In a move aimed at better positioning itself to meet expected growing demand for ATSC Mobile DTV and gap filler transmission solutions, Dielectric Communications this week has arranged a sales partnership with Exir Broadcasting and Telecom, formerly known as Teracom Components.
The agreement allows Dielectric to augment its existing RF product line with Exir’s low-power RF filters and combiners. The deal also allows Exir to begin sales of Dielectric’s high-power TV and radio RF systems worldwide.
Talks between the two companies began in spring 2008 during the NAB Show, said Richard Cote, VP of sales and marketing, at Dielectric. “Exir has been around for a while and has a good reputation and good engineering resources and design house,” he said. “They put together a quality product, and that’s the kind of equipment we can incorporate into our markets and go to market with with our antennas,” he said.
Much of that sales effort will be pursuing low-power DTV transmission solutions to fill coverage gaps of high-power DTV stations and to grab a piece of the emerging market for ATSC Mobile DTV, he said.
Late last year, the FCC announced rules to allow broadcasters to use distributed transmission systems. The rules, which went into effect Feb. 27, are seen as a way for broadcasters to fill coverage gaps and perhaps assist in the future rollout of ATSC Mobile DTV. “I think [the FCC distributed transmission system rule] sparked a lot of interest,” Cote said. “We’ve gotten more requests in the past couple of months than we have in the last two years on this whole thing. I think the industry is realizing that need is going to be there, and we wanted to facilitate that as soon as possible,” he said. Dielectric sees the Exir deal as a way to source reliable components to address that need, he added.
For Exir, the sales partnership gives the company access to the U.S. market as well as to Dielectric’s antenna line. “Antenna sales are not their forte, and they were looking to complement their products with an antenna,” Cote said.
At the NAB Show, two senior sales personnel from Exir will be showing the company’s products in the Dielectric booth.
See Dielectric at the NAB Show in Booth C1324.
