I found this interesting, I was reading a article in a magazine in the doctors office a while back, they said that they can now put high speed broadband wireless internet in HD TV signals, or TV signals, I wonder if they could do the same with HD-radio? That would be a great deal for people way out in the country if it was cheap enough.

I found this interesting, I was reading a article in a magazine in the doctors office a while back, they said that they can now put high speed broadband wireless internet in HD TV signals, or TV signals, I wonder if they could do the same with HD-radio? That would be a great deal for people way out in the country if it was cheap enough.

Can you clarify this a little, are you talking about OTA signals?
Do you remember which publication ran this article?

jras20,
Yea, I've read about broadband using the extra space on DTV signals. The idea was mostly circulated by USDTV, a company that broadcasts subscription SD channels using the extra bandwidth on DTV channels in a few markets.

USDTV service is a good idea but broadband over OTA DTV is an awful idea. (you still need a dialup connection for upload).

Since there is barely enough bandwidth to transmit audio on HD Radio, it couldn't be used for high speed internet.

Those rural markets with no other broadband options are now being connected by fixed wireless, which is usually operated by and piggybacks on a given cell phone network.

From what I've heard, it works pretty well.

DTV signals go in one direction. You and I can't "transmit" back to the tv station. Could you be confusing this with cable internet, which does "ride along" with tv signals?

Ah, i read Mattdb's post after I posted. DIALUP, that's how your signal makes the return path. Just like satellite internet (which, living in the country, I had for a few years until we finally got cable internet!)

Can you clarify this a little, are you talking about OTA signals?
Do you remember which publication ran this article?
I cant remember what article magazine it was in, I would say consumer reports magazine?

The bitrates are much much too slow in HD radio. Even with the data services in full digital modes you're looking at most twice the speed of a dialup modem, and this bandwidth is shared with everyone else using the service. You're better off with a cell phone.

DTV signals go in one direction. You and I can't "transmit" back to the tv station. Could you be confusing this with cable internet, which does "ride along" with tv signals?WKRC-DT in Cincinnati did this for a period of time. Called it "Webhopper." The download speed was pretty good, but the price point remained too high. IIRC, There weren't many rural customers because of signal penetration issues. As we all know, locking in a good DTV signal at 30 miles requires an antenna. Tell a computer owner he's going to have to stick a UHF yagi on his roof and see the reaction. And tell him he'll still need dialup for uploads. Surprisingly, most of the service's customers were downtown, in buildings that hadn't been strung with Cat 5, yet. But as those buildings WERE retrofitted, the service was dropped. With no growth, WKRC eventually pulled the plug.

Doc

As I said before, this whole idea was a dud.

On the contrary, I know plenty of computer owners who live way the heck out about 75 miles from the TC, and who already have professionally installed Winegard 8200Ps, CM 1160s [or other friggn huge antenna] with rotator and pre-amp installed on their roof or (in extreme cases) on a tower or slio.

It would not be a huge deal for these folks, but the high price and need for a dialup connection would kill off most casual interests. Plus, the service probably wouldn't serve more than 100 people without seriously "clogging the tubes."

Besides, a large and growing number of the country population around here have access to fixed wireless. Infact, just about every podunk town has a cell tower with FW on it, and if the majority of country folks aren't more than 4-5 miles from a town (and often have 70'+ silos or towers), getting broadband to country folks isn't as hard as one might think. In really hard situations, it is also possible to set up repeaters on a house with better reception.