B2X: Broadcast Meets Everything
The Challenge of Connectivity in a Streaming-First World
Across the globe, mobile networks are experiencing a surge of pressure unlike anything in communications history. Video traffic alone accounts for more than 70% of mobile network usage and continues to grow exponentially. Software updates, real-time maps, AI model distributions, and interactive content services further drive congestion.
The unicast foundation of today’s mobile networks, while ideal for two-way communication and personalized experiences, was not built to scale efficiently for large-scale one-to-many data delivery. Broadcast, on the other hand, excels at delivering the same content to many users simultaneously, but until now, it has largely operated separately from the mobile ecosystems and their service control and delivery models.
B2X (Broadcast-to-Everything) brings these two domains closer together by combining the deterministic efficiency of broadcast with IP-based delivery models that are compatible with modern mobile and connected devices..
B2X: A New Chapter in Wireless Communications
B2X is a breakthrough standard built upon the foundation of ATSC 3.0, the NextGen TV standard that was architected from the start for extensibility. ATSC 3.0’s bootstrap signaling, flexible data framing, and modular architecture were designed with the future in mind to enable evolution without disrupting backward compatibility. B2X represents that evolution.
Operating as a new Physical layer and Link layer addition to ATSC 3.0, B2X introduces integrated multicast and broadcast capabilities aligned with mobile system concepts defined in 3GPP, while remaining broadcast-native. It does so in a way that complements, not replaces, the existing linear television services delivered by today’s broadcasters. In this sense, B2X can be seen as an enhancement set that builds alongside the current A/300 series standards, rather than overriding them.
ATSC 3.0 continues to support the core paradigm of free-to-air television, including NextGen TV services, advanced emergency alerting, and UHD video, but B2X extends this foundation to support new multicast and datacasting applications through system-level alignment with mobile and future network architectures, including 5G and beyond.
B2X is not a proprietary patch or retrofit workaround. It is a purpose-built system designed to operate in parallel with conventional ATSC 3.0 deployments. B2X signals can be interleaved with traditional ATSC content using shared infrastructure and common SFN topologies. In effect, the broadcast plant becomes a dual-use network: continuing to serve traditional households while opening vast new opportunities in wireless broadband and data delivery.
The Architecture: Where ATSC and 3GPP Meet
At the heart of B2X is a harmonized architecture that operates across all layers of the stack:
Physical Layer (Layer 1): Built on OFDMA principles, B2X uses 3 kHz subcarrier spacing and operates over 5–50 MHz channels. Timing is governed by 1000ms Virtual Frames, synchronized via GPS or IEEE 1588 PTP, enabling precise SFN operation and coordinated scheduling. These Virtual Frames are logically separated from traditional ATSC payloads, while coexisting within the same spectral channel and transmission infrastructure.
MAC and Data Link (Layer 2): The B2X MAC is responsible for organizing data for transmission over the broadcast channel. It takes incoming data packets, and schedules them for delivery. The physical layer then converts these scheduled packets into RF signals and transmits them over the air. On the receiver side, the physical layer recovers the signal, and the MAC extracts the original data for further processing.
The B2X Link Layer Protocol (BLP) provides a common format that allows different types of data to be carried efficiently over the B2X system. Its main role is to hide differences between upper-layer packet types and present them in a form that the MAC and physical layers can handle uniformly. This allows B2X to carry various kinds of data, including traffic used for interworking with 5G systems, without changing the broadcast transmission process.
Network Layer (Layer 3): At this layer, B2X supports broadcast-based IP multicast delivery optimized for large-scale one-to-many services. Stateless multicast flows reduce signaling overhead, while service discovery and filtering are handled through broadcast signaling rather than cellular-style session establishment.
B2X does not add multicast capability inside the 5G core network. Instead, it provides a complementary broadcast delivery path that can be coordinated with mobile networks through external interfaces and system-level integration.
Interworking with 5G Systems (Concept Overview)
B2X is designed to work alongside 5G systems rather than replace them. Interworking allows multicast/broadcast delivery provided by B2X to be coordinated with mobile network functions, depending on deployment needs. There is no single required integration model. Instead, B2X supports interworking at different levels.
At the RAN level, B2X can interwork with 5G radio systems. In this case, coordination may occur between B2X RAN and 5G RAN components using well-known RAN interfaces. This allows B2X multicast/broadcast delivery to be combined with mobile radio operation while keeping the B2X physical and MAC layers unchanged.
At the core network level, B2X can connect to the 5G Core through an interworking function. This enables coordination with mobility, policy, and service control functions in the mobile network, while B2X continues to deliver content using multicast/broadcast.
At the application level, B2X can interwork through content and service platforms. In this case, B2X acts purely as a multicast/broadcast delivery path, and mobile networks provide return-channel or interactive services when needed.
Across all interworking options, B2X remains broadcast-native. Mobile network functions are used only where appropriate, and broadcast operation does not depend on cellular control procedures.
Why It Matters Now
The mobile industry faces a fundamental constraint: spectrum is finite, and user demand is not. With 5G’s move toward ultra-low latency and massive machine-type communications, mobile operators must find ways to offload high-throughput, downlink-heavy services. Enter B2X.
B2X delivers massive content payloads via broadcast, freeing mobile bandwidth for latency-sensitive and uplink-intensive applications. It delivers:
- Live video to mobile users
- AI model and software updates to edge devices
- Smart city sensor payloads
- Emergency alerts and public safety information
- Multicast content for cars, homes, and handsets
- PNT related services based on broadcast distribution
- Enhanced GPS (e-GPS) offering real-time kinematic solutions and distribution
Unlike 5G Broadcast (FeMBMS) or 5G MBS, B2X delivers multicast/broadcast services using broadcast/IMT spectrum. B2X does not rely on cellular spectrum. Its transmission efficiencybenefits from broadcast-oriented framing and signaling, and it can scale to millions of receivers without adding signaling overhead.
A Foundation Designed for Tomorrow
The bootstrap signaling in ATSC 3.0 was not an accident. By allowing receivers to discover where in time and frequency to wake up, this signaling now becomes essential to efficient service acquisition and low-power operations for B2X-capable devices.
Similarly, ATSC’s Physical Layer Pipes (PLPs) were conceived to allow logical separation of services. B2X uses this concept to deliver dynamic slices with application-specific content, allowing ATSC to carry broadcast television and IP-multicast payloads side-by-side.
ATSC 3.0, Reinvented for the Data Age
B2X extends ATSC 3.0 beyond traditional television by enabling efficient broadcast delivery of IP-based services. It builds on the flexible Physical and Link-layer design of ATSC 3.0 and supports slice-based delivery and large-scale multicast distribution.
B2X is designed to operate alongside mobile networks, including MNOs and MVNOs, rather than replace them. Through flexible interworking at the RAN, core, and application levels, B2X can complement 5G systems and provide an efficient delivery path for high-volume, downlink-heavy services without consuming cellular spectrum.
By combining broadcast efficiency with IP service models, B2X enables broadcasters, mobile operators, and MVNOs to expand service delivery using broadcast infrastructure. This positions B2X as a practical extension of ATSC 3.0 for future data and multicast services across a wide range of devices and use cases.