Following our 2015 kickoff at the Consumer Electronics Show this week, we’re accelerating our tech momentum with the first-ever live, on-site trial demonstration of AT&T LTE Broadcast, a new mobile network technology, that we’ll showcase for invited guests during the first-ever college football national championship game at AT&T Stadium January 12.
LTE Broadcast is a new mobile network technology AT&T is currently exploring that enables the delivery of content directly to all users with compatible devices within a designated timeframe and area. It could be used to distribute a wide range of content including music, video, and software to specific areas within our LTE footprint, such as a single sports stadium.
In simple terms, LTE Broadcast works by allocating a portion of wireless network resources to host specific content streams that any compatible device can access simultaneously. Delivering the same content stream to multiple users, rather than delivering each user their own individual content stream, optimizes network resources.
Think of it this way: many customers attending a football game accessing venue-specific content (like live footage from a player’s helmet cam) could experience lags because everyone else is trying to get that same content, at the same time, through individual data streams on their individual devices. LTE Broadcast would make available one single data stream for the helmet cam footage, available to all compatible devices in the stadium which could minimize network congestion.
This trial demonstration signifies the early stages of our foray into LTE Broadcast, but we see a promising future with this technology. It could offer a variety of valuable future uses such as the ability to deliver software updates to not just smartphones, but also to the Internet of Things like connected cars and other devices, as well as new one-to-many commercial services for businesses.
It could allow universities to stream lectures from visiting faculty to students unable to attend, or if lectures on popular topics reach in-person capacity. At sporting events, or other large events, LTE Broadcast can be used to distribute special content to attendees, including additional feeds, alternate camera angles or bonus footage.
We’re beginning to test the capabilities and interest in LTE Broadcast and we’re excited to demonstrate it in a real-world setting at a live sporting event.
Check back here after the game for updates and a look at the demonstration and event.
