On the trade-off between spectrum efficiency and transmission cost in traditional and SFN-based broadcast television

This paper evaluates two alternatives to today´s noise-limited single-transmitter broadcast television systems, either of which would improve spectrum efficiency. One alternative is to increase the transmit power of each broadcaster´s only transmitter. The other alternative is to replace that single transmitter with a multi-transmitter single frequency network (SFN). For both approaches, this paper calculates the relationship between the maximum achievable spectrum efficiency and the cost required to achieve that efficiency as a function of the most important design parameters. Results suggest that increasing power of traditional single-transmitter broadcasters could reduce the amount of spectrum needed for TV by roughly 30%, and would be cost-effective today through much of the U.S. A switch to SFNs could reduce the amount of spectrum needed for TV by roughly 60%, but at a higher cost. Results suggest that the SFN approach could be cost-effective in the most densely populated regions where spectrum is most valuable.