Measurement confirms broadband antenna pattern for soon to be repacked station

LS telcom, a worldwide leader in Spectrum Management and Spectrum Monitoring solutions, today announced that it has recently completed broadcast measurements in Cedar Hill, Texas, USA, via unmanned aircraft system (UAS). The measurement validated both the horizontal and vertical transmission patterns of a newly installed broadband antenna for a local Dallas television station. Leveraging the precision flight of the UAS combined with a specialized measurement payload, the key data was captured over a two-day period at the Cedar Hill facility this month, as part of the local network’s preparation for the upcoming repack.

With the recent completion of the FCC Broadcast Incentive Auction, over nine hundred television stations across the United States are being repacked to new channel assignments. In a compressed timeframe of just thirty-nine months to complete the nationwide process, broadcasters are searching for capabilities and technologies that increase the efficiency of the equipment installation process. LS telcom’s UAS Broadcast Measurement allows broadcasters to capture equipment performance at its source and avoid the lengthy process of drive testing hundreds of square miles to validate basic operation. The measurement data captured can be input into network planning tools for additional analysis, allowing broadcasters to compare the actual transmission patterns of the network with the theoretical projections. UAS Broadcast Measurements represent a huge savings in time, manpower, and testing effort for broadcasters, network installers, and equipment vendors.

“We are pleased to be able to bring this innovative technology to US broadcasters. As the industry faces the compressed time frame of the repack, LS telcom’s UAS Broadcast Measurement can optimize installations and rapidly provide broadcasters with the key baseline measurement of their network’s performance,” said Casey Joseph, Vice President of LS telcom Inc. Broadcasters preparing for network equipment upgrades can include UAS Broadcast Measurement as a service in their network repack plans being filed with the FCC.

With over eight hundred successful measurements to its credit, LS telcom (through its subsidiary Colibrex) is the global leader in UAS Broadcast Measurement. The processes and procedures for these measurements have been approved for operations in over fifteen different countries around the world. For the Cedar Hill measurement, LS telcom operated under an FAA approved Part 107 waiver giving access to the necessary airspace for the mission. LS telcom is currently scheduling the UAS Broadcast Measurement service throughout the USA for validation of current broadcast network operations, as well as new equipment installations.