Freeing TV spectrum with LPLT single frequency networks: Repacking irregularly distributed broadcasters

Abstract

We evaluate for the existing UHF U.S. TV stations two ways to increase the spectrum reuse to repack them in a smaller block without reducing the coverage or bandwidth of any TV station. One way is to increase the transmit power of each broadcaster's only transmitter by the same number of dB, and another more effective way is to replace that transmitter with a low-power low-tower (LPLT) Single Frequency Network (SFN). We use data on existing transmitter location, power and irregular-terrain elevation by using the FCC interference analysis software TVStudy 2.0. Results show that a significant amount of spectrum can be freed, and that looking only at the number of channels that can be freed nationwide misses a significant part of the benefit.