China Broadcasting Prepares for Commercial Launch of 5G NR Broadcast Service

Recently, the broadcasting industry announced an exciting development: the 5G NR broadcast service led by China Broadcasting will be commercially launched next year, enabling TV viewing without data usage.

As the fourth largest telecom operator, China Broadcasting leverages its broadcasting TV attributes, focusing its 5G applications on this advantage, making 5G NR broadcast a differentiating factor from other operators.

Currently, watching legitimate TV channels online requires downloading apps such as CCTV, Mango TV, Migu Video, etc., and most of these apps need an internet connection.

With 5G NR broadcast, users can watch TV programs without any restrictions, even if their 5G phone has no SIM card.

Although TV channels are no longer a strict necessity for most people, many shows and live sports still debut on TV, and network congestion can cause quality issues; 5G NR broadcast can alleviate these problems.

In summary, there is still demand for TV programs, and China Broadcasting's 5G NR network TV advantage is that it does not require any network connection.

5G NR broadcast is the latest TV broadcast technology that transmits traditional TV channels via coordinated 5G base stations and broadcast towers, allowing TV programs to be viewed on 5G terminals without worrying about data or network congestion.

In simple terms, 5G NR broadcast uses base stations as relays to send broadcast signals to user terminals; any terminal supporting 5G NR broadcast can receive TV programs without a SIM card.

Notably, 5G NR broadcast supports a SIM‑free mode and now offers cross‑operator service, so users of the three other major operators can also watch TV without data.

What is the progress of China Broadcasting's 5G NR broadcast technology?

At the end of last year, China Broadcasting and Mobile jointly launched pre‑commercial 5G NR broadcast trials in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, announcing that formal commercial service will follow.

During the 2024 MWC Shanghai, insiders said that commercial preparation is underway, with equipment being deployed and tested in collaboration with Huawei, ZTE, Vivo, OPPO, HiSilicon, MediaTek, etc., aiming for full commercial launch next year.

The rollout will not require large changes to existing core networks, base stations, or phone hardware; only new drivers are needed, greatly reducing cost and accelerating adoption.

Consumers look forward to free TV content, as 5G data is expensive.

However, attracting younger audiences accustomed to online content remains a challenge for broadcasting.

While 5G NR broadcast brings innovation, success will depend more on content appeal and innovation than just technical advantage.

With the personal communication market of the four major operators at a bottleneck and earlier 5G use cases not taking off, it remains to be seen whether 5G NR broadcast will become a breakthrough for broadcasting.