[opendtv] Re: --FCC OKs WiFi between TV channels
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 08:45:33 -0400
At 3:31 PM -0400 5/25/04, Manfredi, Albert E wrote:
>Don't think that's realistic. DBS and cable will continue to have
>a lot more spectrum than OTA, so it's hard to see how OTA can
>provide the same level of program choice. Not to mention the
>reception problems that are sometimes easiest to solve with either
>cable or DBS, no matter what modulation you care to use.
Your contention is not valid in the emerging world of digital distribution.
Yes cable has more "local spectrum" than DBS. So how has DBS managed
to capture nearly 25% of the homes that formerly subscribed to cable?
And broadcasters are the most constrained in terms of available
spectrum. Unfortunately they are ALSO the most wasteful of the
spectrum they control.
And you are completely wrong about the inability to reach many homes
with properly modulated DTV signals. This is ONLY a factor of
economics. There will certainly be homes in rural areas where it will
be far more efficient to deliver content via DBS rather than OTA. But
in urban areas there is NO good reason why we cannot achieve nearly
100% reliable reception. I suspect that Mark Schubin can receive
quite a few OTA radio station in his apartment, using dumb receivers
that are incapable of dealing with multipath issues.
With smart receivers and a properly designed distribution network it
is possible to achieve very high rates of reliable reception. But
there must be some incentive to make the investment to reach these
high target levels. Unfortunately, broadcasters have little incentive
to do this with the current big stick business model - they are TOO
comfortable allowing competitors to deliver their content.
The reality is that there is plenty of broadcast spectrum to compete
with cable and DBS. But it must be used efficiently, and the ability
to cache content locally in the receiver or a home gateway server is
a prerequisite to effective competition with cable and DBS, who are
already using PVRs to deliver a desired service (time shifting) and
as a bandwidth multiplier.
The best way to look at this is in terms of total forward bandwidth
over a fixed unit time (i.e. a day or a week).
With a properly designed infrastructure every market can use at least
half of the core spectrum. For simplicity, lets assume 20 6 MHz
channels per market. And lets not bee too aggressive on the bit
rates; let's assume 14 Mbps per 6 MHz channel. That's 280 Mbps at any
moment in time; 241,920,000 megabits per day; 1,693,440,000 megabits
per week.
Bandwidth is not the problem. Understanding how to use that bandwidth
to compete effectively is the problem.
Regards
Craig
----------------------------------------------------------------------
You can UNSUBSCRIBE from the OpenDTV list in two ways:
- Using the UNSUBSCRIBE command in your user configuration settings at
FreeLists.org
- By sending a message to: opendtv-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the word
unsubscribe in the subject line.
Other related posts: