The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted an experimental special temporary authority (STA) to a broadcast station to test 5G broadcasting.

The company that has received this STA is Milachi Media, which is the licensee of a low-power television station WWOO-LD, in Westmoreland, New Hampshire.

As part of the test, Milachi will partner with Xgen Networks LLC, Qualcomm, and others to provide traditional TV programming using 5G Broadcast.

The test will involve broadcasting signals to any device that has a 5G chip, including smartphones, tablets, and television sets.

FCC stated that the STA has been issued on a non-interference basis and may be immediately modified or terminated if the operation causes interference to any other licensed user.

“Upon review of the application, we conclude that the request complies with the Commission’s requirements for an experimental authorization and the public interest would be served by grant of Milachi’s request," said the FCC in a statement.

“We find that Milachi has proposed a definite program of research and experimentation; stands ready to proceed with such research; is not expected to cause any objectional interference; and the experiment is likely to provide valuable information to allow broadcasters to better understand how 5G Broadcast can be used not only for traditional television services, but also new and innovative video and data services”.

Milachi will use 5G Broadcast to work with first responders to provide enterprise video and data services, as well as emergency alerts.

5G Broadcast is expected to ease congestion of wireless networks during live events when users are trying to watch the game on their phones. It could also be used for public safety broadcasts too.