Smart Informatics Equips Czech TV to Broadcast Beyond Boundaries with Peplink
Czech TV, the national public broadcaster, is known for its commitment to high-quality content and technological innovation. With a wide range of live and remote productions, Czech TV operates a fleet of Outside Broadcast (OB) vehicles that serve as mobile studios for covering news, sports, and live events across the country.
Challenge
Czech TV aimed to modernize their fleet of Outside Broadcast vehicles by implementing a more cost-effective alternative to their current Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) system, which depends heavily on costly geo-stationary satellite links. They wanted to reduce operational expenses while maintaining reliable connectivity for live broadcasts across diverse locations.
Rather than eliminating satellite entirely, Czech TV wanted a hybrid solution, using satellite for specific scenarios while incorporating mobile 5G connectivity where possible. The solution would need multiple 5G modems for redundancy, yet be compact enough for mobile deployment. Additionally, it needed to be seamlessly integrated with their existing production tools.
Solution
Smart Informatics, a Peplink partner, worked with Peplink European Distributor Frontier EU to meet Czech TV’s requirements. Each of ten OB vehicles was fitted with an HD4 MBX 5G, a powerful quad-modem mobile router, paired with selected Mobility Antennas based on space and mounting constraints to enhance signal reception. This eliminated the need for additional space for multiple routers in a single vehicle.
To further reinforce the network architecture, Smart Informatics implemented two SDX Pros in High Availability mode as core infrastructure at a central location, enabling SpeedFusion tunnels for secure and bonded communication between the HD4 MBX 5G in OB vehicles and SDX Pros in master control rooms. All Peplink devices are then monitored through InControl.
Result
The Peplink-powered infrastructure transformed how Czech TV handles live broadcasting. With bonded 5G connectivity, OB vehicles can now stream broadcast-grade audio and video without reliance on only DSNG uplinks, significantly lowering operational costs.
Additionally, Peplink routers in each vehicle with InControl’s centralized management enabled real-time interconnectivity between OB vehicles and master control rooms. This created a distributed production environment where teams can coordinate seamlessly, even in remote or urban locations with unpredictable connectivity.
Deployment
- Deployed to each OB vehicle
- Enables 5G alternative to DSNG
- Quad-modem eliminates need for multiple routers
- Connected to each HD4 MBX 5G
- Enhances signal reception for OB vehicles
- Varied sizes and mounting options
- Installed in master control rooms
- Enables SpeedFusion tunnels for bonding 5G
- Acts as the central hub for OB fleet coordination
