The CTIA Wireless Association has announced that two Los Angeles-area television stations have agreed to be the guinea pigs in a channel sharing project.
The project is meant to prove that multiple TV signals can be shared in the same slice of spectrum. According to the CTIA, the channel sharing involves a single over-the-air broadcast and related multicast content (SD/HD) in a single, digital stream. To that end, KLCS and KJLA, in particular, will conduct a series of tests that will eventually reach a point wherein KLCS hosts KJLA’s content and transmits a shared stream that will combine the two stations’ primary and multicast content.
The two channels will also run a number of HD and SD video feed tests to see what technical limitations channel sharing may face. The eventual goal of this project is to convince television stations that they can continue to operate and provide the same level of service to customers on a narrower band of spectrum. The Federal Communications Commission is holding an incentive auction in 2015, the point of which is to coax television broadcasters to give up some of their spectrum so it can be repurposed for mobile broadband.
The tests will be run during the first quarter of the year, and will not impact KLCS nor KJLA’s customers.
