Over-the-air Broadcast Spectrum Dormant Capacity Utilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Many regions lack sufficient high-speed internet access, making it difficult to support high-quality over-the-top (OTT) video and data-intensive services, especially in rural areas where satellite or DSL services are unsuitable due to limited network performance and data caps, leading to high costs and unsatisfactory user experiences.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing dormant or remnant capacity in over-the-air broadcast television systems to pre-position content on intermediate storage devices, allowing for efficient delivery of digital content to user devices through a content distribution network, leveraging unused spectrum capacity for non-real-time content storage and delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If satellite or DSL services are used to provide internet access in rural areas, then coverage is improved, but network performance and data capacity remain insufficient to support high-quality OTT video services
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-positions video content on intermediate storage devices (such as set-top boxes or local servers) in advance using dormant or remnant network capacity during off-peak hours. This allows content to be locally cached and delivered to users without requiring high real-time bandwidth, thus enabling high-quality video service in areas with limited network capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediate storage device as a mediator between the content delivery network and the user's end device. This intermediate storage acts as a local buffer that decouples the content delivery from the constrained network infrastructure, allowing users to access high-quality video content without being limited by satellite or DSL data capacity constraints.
2Reliability
If high-speed internet infrastructure is deployed to support OTT video services, then service quality is improved, but infrastructure cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses dormant or remnant network capacity during off-peak hours to pre-load content onto intermediate storage devices. This approach leverages existing infrastructure without requiring additional high-capacity network deployment, thereby maintaining service quality while avoiding the high costs associated with building new high-speed infrastructure in rural areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables intermediate storage devices to automatically receive and cache content during periods of low network utilization. This self-service mechanism allows the network to efficiently utilize its existing capacity without requiring additional investment in infrastructure, while still providing high-quality video service to users.
3Speed
If content is delivered in real-time over constrained networks, then user request responsiveness is improved, but network congestion and performance degradation occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent delivers content to intermediate storage devices in advance during off-peak hours when network traffic is low. This pre-positioning eliminates the need for real-time content delivery over constrained networks, thereby avoiding network congestion while ensuring content is readily available for immediate user access when requested.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the content delivery process into two distinct phases: a pre-positioning phase during off-peak hours when content is transferred to intermediate storage, and a delivery phase when content is served from local storage. This segmentation separates the bandwidth-intensive transfer operation from the user request operation, ensuring network stability during peak usage times.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method of operating an over-the-air broadcast television system having spectrum capacity that has a first portion for linear broadcasting content in real time and a second portion corresponding to a dormant capacity. A content distribution network system receives digital content from a content storage system. A dormant capacity estimator estimates dormant capacity of the spectrum capacity. An intermediate storage device communicates a registration request signal to the content distribution network system using a reverse link. The content distribution network system communicates a registration acknowledgement signal to the intermediate storage device. The content distribution network system communicates the digital content to the intermediate storage device through the over-the-air broadcast television network system. The intermediate storage device stories the digital content therein. The content distribution network system communicates the digital content to a user device through a local link after storing the digital content.