Nokia Networks has begun conducting trials of LTE technology for nationwide TV broadcasting, reported Telecompaper.com on July 29, 2014. The company said it is currently working with a range of partners in the world’s first field trial of wide-area TV broadcasting using a single LTE frequency within the UHF spectrum. The trial, which began transmissions in early July in Munich, uses part of the 700 MHz band to broadcast over an area of 200 square kilometers. The aim is to show that LTE can be used to complement and, in the long run, even provide another option to regional digital TV distribution standards, such as DVB-T in Europe.

The company is using evolved Multimedia Broadcast/Multicast Service (eMBMS) software running in Nokia Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Stations for the tests. The LTE equipment is being deployed at four sites of the Bavarian broadcast company Bayerischer Rundfunk in northern Munich, which are connected by a high performance optical transport network.