The Broadband Pilot Project, "Wittstock/Dosse" is Going Online: For the First Time a Former TV Broadcast Frequency is Being Used for Broadband Internet Access

Joint project of mabb and T-Mobile to demonstrate the use of the digital dividend and to overcome the digital divide

GERMANY , December 1, 2008 - With the pilot project in Wittstock, TV broadcast frequencies have been made available for broadband Internet access in Europe for the first time. “This pilot project is an ideal opportunity to study the benefits of using frequencies out of the “digital dividend”, that is the UHF range below 862MHz, to provide broadband Internet access in rural areas. These frequencies are ideally suited to close the gaps in the German broadband coverage,” says Günther Ottendorfer, Managing Director of Technology at T-Mobile Germany.

“Berlin was the first region worldwide where the analogue terrestrial TV has been switched off. Brandenburg is now at the leading edge of using TV frequencies for broadband Internet”, says Dr. Hans Hege, director of mabb, who has been preparing this pilot project for three years.

Digital terrestrial TV is mainly provided in metro areas and at the same time broadband Internet coverage has not been widely deployed in rural areas. Coverage for the rural areas is therefore a priority, both to bolster the economy as well as to broaden the access to public media.

The purpose of this pilot project is to clarify the technical and economic framework for a large controlled operation in the TV spectrum. Main objectives are to analyse practical cell ranges, cell throughput and interference between DVB-T and broadband Internet as well as to find solutions for mitigation or reduction of potential interference. The project is run by the Media Authority Berlin-Brandenburg (mabb) in coordination with the Federal Network Agency.

The rural area in north Brandenburg near Wittstock/Dosse has been chosen as the region for the broadband Internet pilot project because it currently only allows for Internet access with low narrow-band rates. “A copper or fibre based deployment in areas with low population density does not allow for good economics. This can only be achieved by modern radio technologies, but only in a frequency range where physics allow long range of coverage. The frequencies used for the pilot in Brandenburg are well suited for this purpose”, says Günther Ottendorfer from T-Mobile.

The transmitter for the pilot project has been mounted on a radio mast at the motorway interchange near Wittstock.

TV broadcast frequencies offer the advantage of higher range of coverage as compared to cellular radio communication due to their physical characteristics. They also allow for better reception inside buildings. Using broadcast frequencies therefore provides a combination of enhanced coverage and performance benefits and enables operators to build out infrastructure for broadband Internet access more cost effectively than using cellular radio or WiMAX frequencies available today.

TV broadcast governed by public law, has significantly reduced the amount of digital terrestrial coverage as compared to former analogue coverage, especially in the region around Brandenburg. This reduction in terrestrial coverage has resulted in a significant portion of the broadcast spectrum originally planned for a blanket coverage of the region sitting idle. Currently there are no parts of the broadcast spectrum reserved for new applications.

The goal of the pilot project in Berlin-Brandenburg is to determine the technical and economic conditions for the use of broadcast spectrum within the current regulatory framework. Further research shall help to define future requirements on frequency planning and coordination between regional counties and the Federal Network Agency.

The pilot project is built upon a cooperation agreement between mabb and the mobile network operator T-Mobile, who has been chosen as a partner by mabb. A commercial 3G TD-CDMA system, similar to the one used by T-Mobile in the Czech Republic, has been adopted for the required frequency range at 750MHz to allow the implementation of the pilot. The system has been supplied by the UK-based IPWireless, a leading provider of mobile broadband and multimedia broadcast technologies designed to operate in a variety of frequency bands.

Together, mabb and T-Mobile expect to prove the interference free operation of uni- and bi-directional services. The analysis of interference will be conducted in a transparent procedure led by the Federal Network Agency. Details will be disclosed at the beginning of next year. After the initial technical trial, there will be up to 100 users connected to the system.

In parallel to the pilot project mabb will be clarifying the remaining open items for a controlled operation in the whole federal state of Brandenburg.

About IPWireless

Founded in 1999, IPWireless is a pioneer in developing and delivering next generation silicon, software, and network infrastructure wireless solutions that are based on 3GPP, the world’s leading mobile standard path. Our UMTS mobile broadband technologies have been deployed by a set of marquis customers around the globe in both the commercial and government markets. IPWireless’ award-winning and field-proven TDtv™ technology, a 3GPP mobile broadcast solution, enables UMTS operators to profitably deliver multiple, high-resolution TV channels, digital audio, or other IP data-cast services to an unlimited number of concurrent customers using their existing spectrum. Many of the world’s largest mobile network operators have announced initiatives with this unique mobile broadcast solution.

IPWireless is headquartered in San Bruno, California, and operates a technology development center in Chippenham, UK. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ipwireless.com

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