Humber Polytechnic’s Broadcast-Broadband Convergence B²C Lab and the City of Calgary are partnering to launch North America’s first ATSC 3.0 municipal use project.
This partnership will explore how ATSC 3.0 broadcast technology can improve municipal services, increase connectivity and drive impact by enhancing efficiency for a more connected Calgary.
The B²C Lab is the first of its kind in North America and is located at the Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation at Humber’s North Campus. The lab explores multisectoral applications using the new IP-based ATSC 3.0, a next generation terrestrial IP-based broadcast transmission standard, set to replace the current North American standard, ATSC 1.0. This new technology offers much more than just streaming TV into your home.
Over-the-air broadcasting is a popular and long serving method for mass communication and ATSC 3.0 elevates this capability by merging new broadcast capabilities with IP-based communications. The technology enables data broadcasting over large distances of more than 100 kilometres, making it ideal for delivering location-specific information to first responders during emergencies and improving access to education and health-care services in underserved areas.
"As the home of North America’s first Broadcast-Broadband Convergence Lab, Humber Polytechnic is at the forefront of developing next-generation television and data delivery applications enabled by the ATSC 3.0 standard," said Ann Marie Vaughan, president and CEO, Humber Polytechnic. "This collaboration with the City of Calgary demonstrates the significant impact Humber is making nationally and the importance of collaborating with like-minded partners who are excited to push boundaries and explore innovative solutions that can be applied across various industries, from emergency response to digital education, all while providing hands-on opportunities for our students to engage in research and development."
The ATSC 3.0 municipal use project with Humber’s lab team will design, build and test over-the-air data casting solutions with applications including:
• Secure and improved communication for emergency responders
• Enhanced targeted public emergency alerting
• Dynamic digital municipal signage
• Remote education delivery
• Resilient timing and navigation solutions in case of GPS disruption
The initial phase of the project will involve experimental broadcasts using a single transmitter installed at the Harvard broadcast tower in Calgary that’s directly connected to Humber’s B²C Lab. Humber’s team including faculty and students will oversee the implementation of applications, signal processing and data transmission.
The City of Calgary says ATSC 3.0 creates the opportunity to use existing broadcast technology to make sending emergency alerts faster and more efficient. It also has the potential to improve access to educational and health-care information for those in the community without access to the internet or adequate cell coverage. When environmental disasters strike communities (including wildfires, floods, tornadoes and more) cellular, fibre and land-mobile radio (LMR) communication systems that first responders use can all be easily disrupted or destroyed. Broadcast television towers are hardened infrastructure and can withstand major environmental impacts while continuing to serve the public with critical services.
As well, the City of Calgary believes solutions developed through the project can make the community better by delivering information residents need to IP-based devices (phones, tablets, etc.) near them during an emergency. ATSC 3.0 offers broadcast mobility strengthening the municipality’s ability to communicate across services during emergency response situations and improving the availability of information and services, such as education and health care, in hard to reach or under connected communities.
As part of Building Brilliance: Our Vision to 2030 and Beyond, we are shedding the traditional constraints of higher education and reimagining a model that both adapts to and shapes the world around us. Humber has a powerful convening ability, and we can bring together key players from across the entire ecosystem - nationally and internationally - in ways that others cannot. By 2030, Humber will be the go-to destination for partners who want to solve problems, increase productivity, commercialize their innovations, and succeed in a competitive market. We’ll be their engine of productivity and growth. By making bold decisions around how we fundamentally operate, we can reimagine learning, forge deeper partnerships and drive impact, creating real value and progress. This story is an example of how we are building brilliance by developing deeper partnerships every day.