The  Research Center in co-operation with Rai Way has launched in Aosta Valley on UHF channel 53 a second  DVB-T2 transmitter located in Salirod-Saint Vincent that, along with the transmitter Gerdaz-Aosta, installed in 2012, allowed to set up a DVB-T2 a small regional single frequency network test bed. This field trial has allowed us to experience the typical issues associated with a SFN: synchronization of transmitters, assessment of the areas of overlapping coverage, delays inserted to avoid static interference zones etc

The Research Center, after experimenting in the laboratory the first prototypes of DVB-T2 lite, activated in Aosta Valley a single frequency network  on UHF channel 53 in order to test the potential offered by the new system . The scheme chosen for the testing involves the use of “mixed” system: the T2 signal is split into two sub frames, one compatible with the standard T2 base, the other T2 lite, optimized respectively for fixed and mobile reception . The four transmitters of Gerdaz, Salirod, Arpy and Courtil radiate a bouquet consists of three HD programs for the T2 base and from one to three services oriented to mobile reception for the T2 lite.

The growing demand for transmission capacity for mobile access has led in recent years public administrations to consider new ways of spectrum management, which include sharing between different services and operators. At the invitation of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development we have participated and contributed to a field experiment aimed at assessing the problems of interference eventually suffered by Fixed Services (Radio Links for TV contribution / distribution) by LTE services in the 3.6-3.7 GHz band.

The television signal that we can see in our living room, after being generated in a TV studio or in an external shooting site, in order to reach our TV set, makes use of a rather complex and articulated telecommunications network. Broadcasting from the closest TV transmitter represents only the last part of this network.

The “Networks and Protocols” project has the task of studying the transport networks for TV signals from the shooting point up to the transmitters, with the purpose of guiding and accompanying the technological evolution of Rai networks.

Following the recent introduction of LTE mobile service in a portion of the UHF band (800 MHz band) that traditionally was intended for the exclusive use of TV broadcasting, serious problems on the continuity of the television reception may arise. In particular, a weak point is the antenna amplifier. In order to analyze (and then simulate) the behavior of this device in case of non-linear distortion due to the presence of strong LTE signals, we carried out specific laboratory tests to characterize some typical antenna.