ARK Multicasting Launches Nation’s Largest Broadcast Internet Network
CEDAR HILL, Texas – (BUSINESS WIRE) – ARK Multicasting, a low-power television station and the nationwide leader in broadcast Internet technology, has equipped its first ten stations with ATSC 3.0 technology to enable broadcast Internet connectivity. The new TV standard ATSC 3.0 offers broadcasters such as ARK the possibility of converting conventional TV signals into wirelessly transmitted IP content, which is known as broadcast Internet. ARK is leading the transformation from a traditional TV broadcaster to a wireless data delivery platform that offers streaming services, distance learning, games and cloud services.
With 283 lower performance television licenses and building permits across the United States, ARK Multicasting is ideally positioned to provide broadcast Internet services to millions of homes using ATSC 3.0 technology.
“With its one-to-many architecture, Broadcast Internet is ideally suited for simultaneously transmitting large amounts of data to tens of thousands of consumers. Our network has the potential to increase the efficiency of 5G wireless networks, enable autonomous vehicles and provide farmers with technology for precision farming, ”said Josh Weiss, CEO of ARK.
The first two stations will be completed in December in Dallas, Texas and Panama City, Florida. The remaining 8 channels will broadcast in ATSC 3.0 until the end of the first quarter of 2022. These stations include College Station, Texas, Nashville and Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Pensacola, Destin, a second station in Panama City, Jacksonville and Melbourne, Florida.
ARK has partnered with leading cloud computing and broadcast equipment providers to bring its broadcast internet technology online.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise offers infrastructure, software and services that together form the edge-to-cloud platform for ARK’s Broadcast Internet Service. “We see ARK as a pioneer in the broadcast internet business and we praise their approach to delivering content to households that do not have adequate connectivity. Thanks to our world-class ATSC 3.0-compliant blueprint, we can help them deliver the core broadcast network that controls all stations, orchestration services and the introduction of additional compelling use cases, ”said Paolo Ceccherini, Worldwide Business Lead, Digital Video Solutions, HPE Communications Technology Group .
“The Comark Digital Services and Transmission teams are very excited to support ARK in bringing a new business model to market for its spectrum for the transmission of the Internet by developing ATSC 3.0, and we look forward to the future opportunities that arise that can result, ”said Jason Fiore, director of sales and business development.
General DataTech, Inc. provides staging, burn-in and deployment services. “GDT is proud to be part of the ARK Multicasting family as we partner with ATSC 3.0. With our partnership, ARK is one of the largest broadcasters in the United States focused on bringing high-speed Internet and distance learning to rural America, ”said Thomas Ducatelli, CEO of GDT. ARK has also selected GDT for future operations services and through these services ARK will be able to manage the entire end-to-end environment.
ARK Multicasting provides an open, standards-based solution from Triveni Digital that includes the SkyScraper® XM ATSC 3.0 Datacasting System along with the ATSC 3.0 Broadcast Gateway Scheduler, GuideBuilder® XM ATSC 3.0 Transport Encoder and StreamScope® XM Analyzer. The Triveni Digital solution runs in a virtualized environment to ensure high scalability for the provision of ATSC 3.0 services.
“We are pleased to support ARK Multicasting in exploring the treasure trove of datacasting applications available in the ATSC 3.0 environment with our field-tested SkyScraper XM data casting system,” said Ralph Bachofen, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Triveni Digital. “In Triveni Digital’s decades of experience in both traditional broadcasting and datacasting, there are few things that compare to the excitement I feel about using ARK. They are true pioneers in this area and Triveni Digital is happy to be by your side, ”continues Bachofen.
“Since first working with the ARK Multicasting team in the early days a few years ago, Ateme has focused on expanding the ATSC 3.0 markets with our compression solutions and industry expertise, becoming a leading voice for ATSC 3.0 and to work with key partners to grow that area, “said Dave Brass, vice president of strategy and market development for Ateme. “We are highly motivated to work with the visionaries from ARK and all partners on this project.”
“Most people don’t consider television a wireless service provider, but that’s about to change and ARK is at the forefront,” said Mark O’Brien, president of SpectraRep, the distance education provider that has been using the stations for the first 10 years. “Remote learning, public safety and other pillars of datacasting are being taken to a whole new level and new services that we couldn’t even imagine are now possible. SpectraRep is proud to share the vision of ARK and to be part of this historic NextGenTV delivery. ”
ARK has selected digital warning systems for emergency warning. “It is so exciting to be part of ARK Multicasting’s unique business model that is turning a traditional low-power broadcaster into a key component of the Internet ecosystem,” said Bill Robertson, vice president of business development for Digital Alert Systems. “There is hardly a better company to showcase all of DASDEC’s capabilities. And with 300 stations across the country, ARK Multicasting represents a great opportunity for Digital Alert Systems as they move more and more of these stations to ATSC 3.0 and meet their EAS obligations while improving the efficiency of the Internet. ”
ARK Multicasting’s first 10 deployments of ATSC 3.0 are just the beginning of an ambitious expansion plan for the low-power broadcaster. Subject to supply chain availability, ARK plans to deploy ATSC 3.0 across its entire footprint over the next 18 months to provide broadcast Internet connectivity to more than 100 million Americans.
About ARK Multicasting, Inc.
ARK Multicasting, a leading next generation television company, is based in Dallas. ARK takes advantage of the power of television broadcasting and adds an IP multicast extension to the unicast Internet. ARK is at the forefront of broadcast Internet service development with solutions to provide Internet service provider relief and datacasting service delivery to many industries including distance learning, the connected car market, intelligent agriculture, telemedicine, and premier video streaming providers. ARK’s presence of ~ 300 broadcast assets, covering 1/3 of the United States and covering ~ 100 million people, leads the industry in Next Gen TV ATSC 3.0. More information is available at www.ARKMulticasting.com.
[ad_1]
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211209005709/en/ARK-Multicasting-Launches-Nation%E2%80%99s-Largest-Broadcast-Internet-Network