By: Jay Martin, VP/Sales, Dielectric

With the recent acceptance of the ATSC 3.0 standard by the FCC and other industry groups, broadcasters can now start modifying their plants to deliver ATSC 3.0’s many IP-based services—such as multiple 4K video programs, targeted ads, and mobile reception.

At the upcoming 2018 NAB Show—April 9-12 at the Las Vegas Convention Center—broadcasters will see ATSC 3.0-compatible UHF/VHF repack antennas and filters at our booth (C2613) that meet the higher safety margins and 2-to-3db higher peak to average power ratios (PAPR) required by the new standard’s OFDM-based modulation.

To make this transition as seamless and cost-effective as possible, we’re also including FutureFill as a value-added feature—at no extra charge—in every center-fed, high-power repack antenna we manufacture. FutureFill increases power density by 7- to 9-dB close to the tower, and reduces the main lobe gain by 1.2-to 1.4-dB, as well as allowing an ATSC 1.0 antenna’s performance to be boosted for ATSC 3.0 without being taken down from the tower or replaced.

Our band-tunable filters are also being tuned to ATSC 3.0 before they ship from our facility so they won’t need to be re-tuned later, when customers decide to start-up ATSC 3.0 services. If additional transmitter power is available, the broadcaster can even increase the TPO to overcome the main lobe gain reduction, or use Single Frequency Network (SFN) technology to enhance reception at the periphery of the service area.

Our loyal customers have stayed with us over the past 20 to 30 years because they know we’re always looking to the future and watching out for their interests. With our extensive antenna system design and testing, we’re confident that they’ll be better situated for both the spectrum repack and ATSC 3.0 transitions.