The BBC has set up several cellular receive sites with fixed receivers for its wireless cameras in the heart of nine major cities, including Cardiff, Middlesbrough, Carlisle, Newcastle, Manchester, Belfast, Swindon, Oxford and Bristol.
A small news team, typically just a reporter and cameraman with a wireless camera, can use the cellular sites with fixed receivers to cover a breaking news story and transmit live pictures without an SNG vehicle.
The cellular sites use a new communications concept from Link Research. Live signals from a wireless news camera are transmitted via a car used to transport the news crew to a receiver linked into the broadcast network.
Link Research is working with OFDM and cellular diversity so that the digital signals from the cameras bounce off buildings, making this new technique well suited for city centers.
The BBC also has ordered car repeater systems that will be fitted onto its cars so it can use a 100mw, a 1W clip-on amplifier or the 5W repeater system in the car to transmit pictures.
During trials, the BBC used a 1W amplifier 10.5mi away from a live position in Bath (line-of-sight) to receive pictures in Bristol.
For more information, visit www.linkres.co.uk.
