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.