Saankhya Labs, India’s 5G communication solutions disruptor, announced today that its Broadcast Radio Head (BRH) had been certified by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). Saankhya Labs pioneered the BRH concept to assist digital terrestrial broadcasters in increasing their reach and market share. ‘ Cellularizing’ broadcast transmitters accomplish this to provide ubiquitous broadcast signal coverage for high-quality content reception in mobile, automotive, and other portable devices.

However, these networks needed a high-gain external antenna to get reliable reception indoors. BRH works on the concept of very low power and low tower transmission (a.k.a. Low Power Low Tower – LPLT), similar to the power levels of a cellular radio transmitter. By adopting the coverage pattern of cellular networks, BRH’s can provide uniform coverage even indoors and in devices that do not have a high gain external antenna.

BRH works on the concept of very low power and low tower transmission (a.k.a. Low Power Low Tower – LPLT), similar to the power levels of a cellular radio transmitter. By adopting the coverage pattern of cellular networks, BRH’s can provide uniform coverage even indoors and in devices that do not have a high gain external antenna.

“We are thrilled to bring often disparate mobile and broadcast ecosystems together. Our BRH offering significantly benefits both ecosystems with a cost-effective solution for high-bandwidth data as well as expanded market access opportunities”

Parag Naik, CEO of Saankhya Labs,

With so many people watching videos on their mobile devices, the BRH will allow broadcasters to target these consumers effectively. Hosts can also monetize their Broadcast by displaying hyper-local advertisements and offering newer data services over their broadcast network. The convergence of Broadcast and Mobile Broadband networks is the foundation of this solution. A mobile network operator can use the BRH network (co-located with mobile radios) to offload high bandwidth-consuming data traffic, such as video intelligently. The BRH can also be used as part of Saankhya Labs’ 5G Broadcast solutions.

These combined technologies developed collaboratively bring robust and reliable broadcast capability direct to automotive, IoT, mobile and portable devices with extended reach and service areas. The deployment of a ‘celluarized’ broadcast infrastructure brings true broadcast into the 5G marketplace, providing new monetization opportunities.”

Mark Aitken, SVP Sinclair Broadcast Group

BRH enables broadcasters to maximize their spectrum and provide data to various applications such as OTT and Linear video content to mobile phones, Firmware upgrade over the air (FOTA), infotainment, maps, and GIS data for connected automotive use cases, and other IoT applications by enabling ubiquitous coverage and delivering a better quality of service (QoS).

The BRH is compatible with Next-Generation Broadcast Standards such as ATSC 1.0, ATSC 3.0, DVB-T, DVB-T2, DVB-T2-lite, and FeMBMS. It has configurable bandwidths that support 5, 6, and 8 MHz band schemes, allowing it to achieve data rates of up to 50 Mbps.
A large US-based broadcaster has already received FCC-certified BRHs from Saankhya.

Using its broadcast expertise, Saankhya Labs has already developed a chipset that can be integrated into mobile devices to maximize the benefits of this technology. With Sinclair Broadcasting Group and its innovation group ONE Media 3.0 LLC in the United States, a Smartphone-based on this chipset is created.

Saankhya Labs is a 5G disruptor with extensive wireless communication system expertise and a track record of success. Saankhya provides a comprehensive set of communication products and solutions for 5G NR, Broadcast, and Satellite Communication applications. Its award-winning, patented Software Defined Radio SoC platform serves as the foundation for its products and solutions. Saankhya’s solutions include the world’s first production SDR and next-gen open RAN solutions for 5G networks, Multi-standard direct to mobile broadcast solutions, as well as several international technology patents and unique ‘chips-to-systems’ expertise.