The FCC began issuing fact sheets in 2020, such as “Promoting Broadcast Internet Innovation through ATSC 3.0,” Reports and Orders (R&Os), rule revisions, and Public Notices. Five years later, at the 2025 Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show, four of the largest independent TV broadcasting groups announced the formation of EdgeBeam Wireless LLC. The founders were E.W. Scripps, Gray Media, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair.

E.W. Scripps broadcasts in more than 40 US markets. Gray Media broadcasts in 113 markets. Nexstar is licensed in 116 markets. Sinclair operates stations in 86 markets. Some of those markets are shared, but that’s a formidable digital footprint by anyone’s definition. EdgeBeam Wireless promises to provide expansive, reliable, and secure data delivery services, specifically via “Broadcast Internet” datacasting, designed as a significant upgrade for internet connectivity and data transfer along interstate highways when compared to local Wi-Fi systems.

The automotive industry is one of the strongest potential markets for EdgeBeam connectivity. A few bits of return cellphone data will verify the integrity of a EdgeBeam Wireless Broadcast Internet download. For example, the cost to a popular EV auto manufacturer to upgrade a few megabytes of its software across its fleet of 5 million EVs using cellular data at approximately $0.20 USD per vehicle or about $1 million USD, each time. That’s a lot of money on any bargaining table. The potential to significantly lower costs for EV digital upgrades, and provide a new, easy to sell and manage profit center for TV broadcasters is the ultimate win-win. Broadcast TV is always real-time, and the cost of mass distribution is fixed irrespective of audience size. This appears to be a win-win for EdgeBeam Wireless and its customers.

Some people might view datacasting as a new, once-so-called, ‘license for broadcasters to print money,’ and it may be the fresh thinking that ATSC 3.0 and the TV industry needs right now to stimulate and grow. Nationwide ATSC 3.0 datacasting networks will be the pivotal point for TV broadcasters to generate new revenues from new clients without local salespeople or commissions, or worry about TV star agents, egos, viewer opinions or ratings. It’s just data.

Many are thinking national datacasting sales will be groupwide, and any increase in people or operating expenses will be negligible. To engineers, it’s just more digital data from more outside sources, more likely over IP than satellites. Technically, stations and high-power transmitters will draw about the same amount of electricity with or without datacasting.

The next step of ATSC 3.0 in the automotive industry would be the coordination and broadcast of traffic and road condition data to and between self-driving vehicles. Latency in self-driving applications is unacceptable. Coordination of ATSC 3.0 and ATSC 3.0 SFNs will minimize data latency along rural highways and crowded urban roads.

SFNs along interstate highways will likely be used outside of specific DMAs. Many of the interstate ATSC 3.0 network details are yet to be worked out, but most would be favoring low tower, low power, daisy chaining data between SFN transmitters, and easily fit into a national coverage interference scheme. If useable SFN signals travel more than a couple of miles, it may be too far. The FCC has its future work cut out for it. It’s all about latency.

The Uniqueness of ATSC 3.0

At its most basic level, ATSC 3.0 is a data delivery scheme. All essence of all ATSC 3.0 transmission is HTTP and/or IP data. ATSC 1 is not IP or HTTP.

ATSC 3.0 was designed to be a delivery mechanism of multiple data types of IP data such as audio, video, captioning, service guide, alerting and other data. What differentiates ATSC 3.0 data is signaling. ATSC 3.0 uses a series of tables to tell the receiver what it is receiving and how to respond to video, audio, electronic program guides, and other types of data.

ATSC 3.0 is based on Internet Protocol (IP), specifically to carry IP internet content or services simultaneously with TV news, sports and entertainment program content. The beauty of the Broadcast Internet is that it can be networked between stations across the country making it available virtually anywhere. Some station groups have been experimenting with ATSC 3.0 datacasting for several years. EdgeBeam indicates how seriously broadcast groups are now viewing the technology and business opportunity.

There is no reason groups can’t interconnect Broadcast Internet networks and SFNs together to increase coverage. The Broadcast Internet is an affordable one-to-infinite data distribution technology, beyond one-to-one cellular technology.

5G Broadcast Competitor?

EdgeBeam Wireless LLC also considers instant content delivery without buffering or latency another significant market. The only competitor to no-delay, live broadcasting of large live events would be 5G Broadcast TV. What’s standing in the way of live TV via 5G Broadcast or EdgeBeam is the production ramp-up of consumer products supporting one or both. Both are carried on a standard broadcast signal. The difference is that 5G Broadcast TV is a different modulation scheme than ATSC 3.0, on different channels.

Although it can be broadcast by a standard ATSC 3.0 transmitter, 5G Broadcast TV requires different exciter modulation, and is transmitted on 5G channels now owned by cellular carriers. Many of those channels are in the TV spectrum sold in the 2016 FCC spectrum auction to cellular carriers, formerly known as TV Channels 46-51.

5G Broadcast can be broadcast on a separate channel than ATSC 3.0. Parallel TV exciters capable of generating dual ATSC 3.0 and 5G Broadcast TV signals on different channels from the same asynchronous serial interface (ASI) STL stream may be upcoming but are not available yet. Both systems will require the integration of an ATSC 3.0 receiver chip at the consumer user end. 5G Broadcast will likely require a separate 5G transmitter, combiner and antenna for the different frequency transmission. EdgeBeam is significantly easier for broadcasters to integrate with minimal hardware investment and operating expenses on the same channel.

EdgeBeam Wireless can also offer Enhanced GPS (2024 BEITC Update: ATSC 3.0 Broadcast Positioning Systems) and move data to any civilian or military device with an ATSC 3.0 receiver or receiver chip. Devices would include those integrated in vehicles, boats, phones, drones, tablets and TV sets.

Unique Advantage

Relative to 5G cellular data, ATSC 3.0 broadcasters own low-band RF propagation systems at high ERPs on some of the tallest TV towers in the world. Nothing is more legal or illegal than ERP outside legal limits. One of the tricks ATSC 3.0 broadcasters use is horizontal and vertical signals to perfect viewer reception. The FCC is happy with vertical ERPs equaling horizontal ERPs.

Broadcasters are legally and financially obligated to blanket their designated market area (DMA) with a reliable, powerful signal. TV broadcasters own the infrastructure, are licensed by the FCC, and have FCC permission to datacast in ATSC 3.0.

In early 2021, datacasting networks began broadcasting in Las Vegas, Salt Lake, Portland, Nashville and Pittsburgh. Of those five markets launching datacasting, most are on a single ATSC 3.0 station and tower in each market except Portland. Station groups are building out ATSC 3.0 datacasting and datacasting in more markets as they become available.

TV stations appear highly competitive on their usual TV channels, but they have cooperated behind the scenes to help each other survive major station hardware disasters for decades. Broadcaster engineers have helped each other out with spare parts since the day the second transmitter, VTR, or production switcher came to town. Engineering cooperation is good for the industry in any market, and it is the path to success for nationwide ATSC 3.0 datacasting network commitment.