The project aims to integrate native IP satellite and terrestrial infrastructures with 5G networks and smart edge delivery principles with an integrated multilayer approach to revolutionise content distribution for broadcasters, providing resilience and quality of service to all citizens and reaching also  areas and people with limited or no terrestrial network accessibility. For media organizations, telecom operators, and policymakers, 5G-EMERGE technology represents a new asset for media distribution, and a future-proof strategy that meets the growing demand for sustainable geographic content accessibility and network resilience.

The consortium agreed to continue the project for at least another 2 yearsThe growing number of participating companies aims to develop edge services with deployments optimized for home reception, direct to vehicle and nomadic use-cases, and a great number of 5G-Network integrations. It will also expand its activities to NR-NTN to define viable service scenarios for 5G-based satellite networks.  This pre-industrialisation phase aims to evolve key technologies to a level just before mass market production with customizations to specific ‘anchor customers’ requirements’.

‘’Convergence of satellite technologies into online delivery mechanisms is essential for media distribution to guarantee reach, increase quality, reduce cost and improve resilience.’, explains Antonio Arcidiacono, Director of Technology & Innovation at EBU. ‘’5G-EMERGE is a key industry initiative to develop products optimized for clearly identified use cases that enhance online delivery with satellite communication services, exploiting 5G centric technologies. 5G-emerge is a concrete example of the EBU Multilayer, Anywhere, Resilient and Sustainable (MARS) strategy developed for the provision of interactive edgecasting services for the delivery of live content or the exchange of files to a large number of users.’’

"The 5G-EMERGE project is a transformative initiative that integrates satellite and terrestrial networks to deliver unparalleled access and scalability for media services,” said Antonio Franchi, Head of the 5G/6G NTN Programme Office, “Through the convergence of both networks, the barrier to entry will be lower for commercial viability for broadband networks, paving the way for a future where content delivery is seamless, efficient, and accessible anywhere for a superior experience for end-users and more competitive broadcasting landscape across Europe."

Phase 1 of the project described the envisaged ecosystem from technical and market perspective and published multiple white papers. Requirements were validated in 5 different testbeds throughout Europe addressing end-to-end direct-to-home, direct-to-vehicle and direct-to-edge use cases.  Aside from prototypes, also 2 close to market products were developed (for more details www.5g-emerge.com/resources).

Phase 2 builds on all this by advancing dedicated edge services and solutions specific to the mentioned market segments. Edge developments will for example address services for Online Video Platforms, 5G-orchestration, edge security, caching optimization and service monitoring. Several antennas will be developed optimized for home, nomadic, cars and buses use cases. Other examples for use case class specific developments are cloud backhauling, private and public 5G-network integrations and development of gateways.

5G-EMERGE is led by the EBU (CH) and co-funded by 8 ESA ARTES members states. Phase 2 is expanding to 34 companies (from 21 in phase 1) consisting out of satellite and online delivery specialists named in alphabetical order:

Artic Space (S), BFBS (UK), Brightcove (UK), BroadcastCritical (UK), CYSEC (CH), Eutelsat/OneWeb (F), GCore (L), HPE (I), Humans Not Robots (UK), FTA/Inverto (L), Keysight (UK) (FIN), Fondazione LINKS (I), MBI (I), Magister Solutions (FIN), MediaTek (UK) (FIN), MinWave (CH), Nextworks (I), NorthBase (FIN), Oulu University (FIN), RAI (I), ROMARS (I), SES (LU), SixSq (CH), SnT (L), SWISS TXT (CH), Telenor ASA (N), TNO (NL), Varnish Software (S), Verkotan (FIN), Viasat (CH), VTT (FIN).

Antonio Franchi (ESA) and Antonio Arcidiacono (EBU) signed the contract on 13 November 2024 at Estec's headquarters in Paris.

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