LTE-based 5G Broadcast is a profile of existing 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) specifications that enables one-to-many delivery of TV, radio and emergency alerts over dedicated broadcast carriers, without requiring a return channel or SIM card on the receiver. It builds on Further evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (FeMBMS), itself an evolution of evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service (eMBMS); the three names refer to the same LTE-based broadcast lineage. ETSI standardises it as TS 103 720, which 5G-MAG actively maintains and extends to cover 3GPP Release 18 and 19 enhancements.
TS 103 720 covers both directions of that same transport for linear TV and radio: the transmit side and the modem/receive side. The same transmit/receive chain is also the platform 5G Broadcast - Emergency Alerts layers Cell Broadcast Service public warning on top of.
The Problem It Solves
A cellular unicast stream costs more network capacity the bigger its audience gets, no matter how popular the content. Broadcast TV and radio don't work that way, and 5G Broadcast keeps that property: a receiver bootstraps entirely from the broadcast signal itself, no SIM, no return channel, no prior connection to the network, by first synchronising on the narrowband Cell Acquisition Subframe, then following the system information it carries out to the wider PMCH payload. One transmission reaches every receiver in coverage simultaneously, so the network cost of reaching a million viewers is the same as reaching one.
The project at a glance
What it is, how it works, and where the Reference Tools stand, in one deck you can share.
Download the deck (5G Broadcast - TV and Radio Services)From idea to running code
Read it, check it against the standard, then run it.
Specifications
The specifications this technology is built on.
Software Accelerator
The open-source software that implements it.
Latest updates and roadmap
Status on 23 October 2026
planned
- Release 17 to 19 transmitterWider bandwidths, new UHF bands, CAS muting and interleaving in the QRD and CRD transmitter.
- Android playback modesDASH and RTP playback, and seamless switching with DASH, in the MBMS Android Middleware.
- Docker setupContainer images for the transmitter and the client-side components.
in development
- ETSI TS 103 720 updateThe update of the specification for 3GPP Release 18 is in progress.
- BM-SC and application providerxMB interface fields reworked to the specification, real Raptor FEC and a stricter FLUTE profile in the BM-SC.
- MBMS Client announcementThe MBMS Client gains every client-side way of acquiring the service announcement, and a broadcast demo chain.
released
- rt-libflute 0.12.41 Sep 2026. Option to finish sending all files when the transmitter is deactivated; fixes unbounded FDT growth.
- rt-mbms-examples 1.1.05 Nov 2024. Adds configuration changes and sample scripts for the IBC 24 demo.
- rt-mbms-mw-android 1.0.05 Sep 2024. Seamless switching between 5G broadcast and unicast delivery on Android, with HLS support.
Merged since v1.0.0 61 pull requests in 8 repositories
Open Source, Built Together
Repositories of This Project
The real, running software for this technology: what each repository is, what it implements, its latest release and where to find it.
Early Access: available to members first
rt-mbms-txrt-mbms-tx-for-qrd-and-crdrt-mbms-mw-androidrt-mbms-examplesAlso used by Content Delivery Protocols and Tools
rt-libfluteJoin the Effort
Help shape what connected media looks like next and scale your projects with the industry.