Sony landed a U.S. patent Tuesday for a “method and apparatus for transmitting a-priori information in a communication system,” Patent and Trademark Office records show. A-priori information is that which is based on scientific deduction rather than observed, empirical data. The patent (9,326,295) is based on a December 2014 application and lists as its inventor Luke Fay, senior staff engineer at Sony Electronics in San Diego. Fay is chairman of ATSC’s S-32 specialist group that framed ATSC 3.0's physical layer, which is now before the FCC as an authorization petition (see 1604130065). Fay also is vice chairman of ATSC’s Technology Group 3, which is supervising development of the overall ATSC 3.0 standard. “During the last decade, terrestrial broadcasting has evolved from analog to digital,” Fay’s patent says. “There exist several wideband digital communication techniques depending on a broadcasting standard used,” including OFDM, which is “a method of encoding digital data on multiple carrier frequencies and is used in applications such as digital television and audio broadcasting, DSL Internet access, wireless networks, power line networks, and 4G mobile communications,” the patent says. Though the patent doesn’t say so, OFDM is the modulation system used in ATSC 3.0 and has been used for years by Europe’s DVB consortium. “Current digital broadcasting systems use fixed knowledge of a channel bandwidth at a receiver,” the patent says. “In addition to the specific information about the communications technology used, the receiver needs the channel bandwidth or a sampling frequency to demodulate received signals. Due to technical advancements, the channel bandwidth and the sampling frequency may change over the years. As recognized by the present inventor, there is a need to facilitate changes in channel bandwidth and/or sampling frequency.”
Sony landed a U.S. patent Tuesday for a “method and apparatus for transmitting a-priori information in a communication system,” Patent and Trademark Office records show. A-priori information is that which is based on scientific deduction rather than observed, empirical data. The patent (9,326,295) is based on a December 2014 application and lists as its inventor Luke Fay, senior staff engineer at Sony Electronics in San Diego. Fay is chairman of ATSC’s S-32 specialist group that framed ATSC 3.0's physical layer, which is now before the FCC as an authorization petition (see 1604130065). Fay also is vice chairman of ATSC’s Technology Group 3, which is supervising development of the overall ATSC 3.0 standard. “During the last decade, terrestrial broadcasting has evolved from analog to digital,” Fay’s patent says. “There exist several wideband digital communication techniques depending on a broadcasting standard used,” including OFDM, which is “a method of encoding digital data on multiple carrier frequencies and is used in applications such as digital television and audio broadcasting, DSL Internet access, wireless networks, power line networks, and 4G mobile communications,” the patent says. Though the patent doesn’t say so, OFDM is the modulation system used in ATSC 3.0 and has been used for years by Europe’s DVB consortium. “Current digital broadcasting systems use fixed knowledge of a channel bandwidth at a receiver,” the patent says. “In addition to the specific information about the communications technology used, the receiver needs the channel bandwidth or a sampling frequency to demodulate received signals. Due to technical advancements, the channel bandwidth and the sampling frequency may change over the years. As recognized by the present inventor, there is a need to facilitate changes in channel bandwidth and/or sampling frequency.”
Ligado expects to hear feedback from the weather community seeking FCC protection from interference in the spectrum used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and support from the wireless industry for its terrestrial LTE plans, but not as much from major GPS companies. That is now that the FCC has opened the door to comments on its proposed modifications to those LTE plans, one company representative told us Monday. Whether the pair of public notices issued Friday lead to the FCC's taking action this year is impossible to say, the representative said.
Wireless has the potential to transform agriculture, CTIA said in a report released Friday, tied to Earth Day. Agricultural land and agriculture account for some 80 percent of U.S. water consumption, the report said. “Less than 10 percent of irrigated farms in the U.S. used advanced irrigation management techniques, such as those using wireless technology,” the report said. “Wireless technology has the potential to not only help farmers more efficiently manage water use but to also add substantial value to the agricultural industry.” In 2013, 67 percent of U.S. farms had access to the Internet, compared to 51 percent in 2005, the report said. Twenty-four percent of farms with Internet access relied on wireless as their primary method of accessing the Web in 2013, compared to 3 percent in 2005. The report was written by the Brattle Group.
Wireless has the potential to transform agriculture, CTIA said in a report released Friday, tied to Earth Day. Agricultural land and agriculture account for some 80 percent of U.S. water consumption, the report said. “Less than 10 percent of irrigated farms in the U.S. used advanced irrigation management techniques, such as those using wireless technology,” the report said. “Wireless technology has the potential to not only help farmers more efficiently manage water use but to also add substantial value to the agricultural industry.” In 2013, 67 percent of U.S. farms had access to the Internet, compared to 51 percent in 2005, the report said. Twenty-four percent of farms with Internet access relied on wireless as their primary method of accessing the Web in 2013, compared to 3 percent in 2005. The report was written by the Brattle Group.
LAS VEGAS -- The "likely" ATSC decision to be announced later this year apportioning MPEG-H as the recommended ATSC 3.0 audio codec for Korea and Dolby AC-4 for the U.S. (see 1604180080) was “obviously” the result of a “compromise” brokered within ATSC to break the months-long impasse to choose between the two competing systems, Fraunhofer’s U.S. point man told us at the NAB Show. For Fraunhofer, one of the threesome of MPEG-H Alliance companies, with Qualcomm and Technicolor, that vied aggressively to be named ATSC 3.0 audio codec for North America and stands to lose that prize to AC-4, “I would say that the nature of compromise means that no one is ever completely satisfied,” said Robert Bleidt, division general manager-audio and multimedia at Fraunhofer USA Digital Media Technologies in San Jose.
LAS VEGAS -- The "likely" ATSC decision to be announced later this year apportioning MPEG-H as the recommended ATSC 3.0 audio codec for Korea and Dolby AC-4 for the U.S. (see 1604180080) was “obviously” the result of a “compromise” brokered within ATSC to break the months-long impasse to choose between the two competing systems, Fraunhofer’s U.S. point man told us at the NAB Show. For Fraunhofer, one of the threesome of MPEG-H Alliance companies, with Qualcomm and Technicolor, that vied aggressively to be named ATSC 3.0 audio codec for North America and stands to lose that prize to AC-4, “I would say that the nature of compromise means that no one is ever completely satisfied,” said Robert Bleidt, division general manager-audio and multimedia at Fraunhofer USA Digital Media Technologies in San Jose.
LAS VEGAS -- The "likely" ATSC decision to be announced later this year apportioning MPEG-H as the recommended ATSC 3.0 audio codec for Korea and Dolby AC-4 for the U.S. (see 1604180080) was “obviously” the result of a “compromise” brokered within ATSC to break the months-long impasse to choose between the two competing systems, Fraunhofer’s U.S. point man told us at the NAB Show. For Fraunhofer, one of the threesome of MPEG-H Alliance companies, with Qualcomm and Technicolor, that vied aggressively to be named ATSC 3.0 audio codec for North America and stands to lose that prize to AC-4, “I would say that the nature of compromise means that no one is ever completely satisfied,” said Robert Bleidt, division general manager-audio and multimedia at Fraunhofer USA Digital Media Technologies in San Jose.
Facebook spent $2.78 million on lobbying spending in Q1, about 14 percent more than what it spent in the same period last year, while Oracle increased outlays for lobbying the federal government for Q1, spending $1.72 million. Both companies lobbied on similar issues, including cybersecurity and intellectual property as well as on House (HR-699) and Senate (S-356) legislation focused on updating the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) (see 1604140010), which the technology industry strongly favors.
Facebook spent $2.78 million on lobbying spending in Q1, about 14 percent more than what it spent in the same period last year, while Oracle increased outlays for lobbying the federal government for Q1, spending $1.72 million. Both companies lobbied on similar issues, including cybersecurity and intellectual property as well as on House (HR-699) and Senate (S-356) legislation focused on updating the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) (see 1604140010), which the technology industry strongly favors.