Castanet 5G Broadcast Internet Is Ready to Deploy Now and Built for the AI Era

Castanet advances hybrid ATSC 3.0 and 5G Broadcast from prototype to deployment-ready networks, enabling scalable content delivery for the AI era.

NY, UNITED STATES, October 21, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Twelve months after unveiling its hybrid ATSC 3.0 + 5G Broadcast prototype, Castanet has scalable pilot networks, standards recognition, and growing industry momentum

October 21, 2026 — Castanet Corporation today highlighted twelve months of rapid progress in which its world’s first hybrid ATSC 3.0 + 5G Broadcast Internet advanced from a working prototype to commercial-ready pilot networks, standards recognition, and accelerating industry momentum. The solution is ready to deploy now on existing LPTV spectrum and is purpose-built for the surging demand created by AI-generated content.

“For years the industry has been asked to choose between ATSC 3.0 and 5G Broadcast. Castanet 5G Broadcast Internet shows that broadcasters don’t have to,” said Jon Romm, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Castanet. “Castanet 5G Broadcast Internet is ready to deploy now on existing LPTV spectrum under current rules, and it is built to keep pace as those rules evolve using our software-defined architecture.”

Built for the AI Era of Content

As AI-generated content multiplies, delivering video efficiently to large audiences becomes more pressing than ever. One-to-many broadcast economics offer a fundamentally better path than pure unicast delivery for live events, on-demand libraries, and the growing volume of AI-created media.

“The Castanet network and platform is designed to carry live and on-demand video, including AI-generated content, delivering it directly across mobile and fixed devices with one-to-many economics. Castanet alleviates current network congestion, creating profitable revenue growth for content creators and rights holders leveraging Castanet 5G Broadcast Internet’s unprecedented cost and scale” said Jon Romm.

From Industry Uncertainty to Proven Momentum

For years, the broadcast industry wrestled with an open question: ATSC 3.0 “or” 5G Broadcast? Regulators, broadcasters, LPTV licensees, and technology partners were asked to pick a path, creating uncertainty about investments and the timeline for next-generation broadcast-internet services.
That answer arrived at NAB Show New York in October 2025, when Castanet presented the world’s first working hybrid ATSC 3.0 + 5G Broadcast prototype to a select audience.

Pilots, Proof Points, and Thought Leadership

Once the hybrid could be seen working rather than only described, awareness and momentum began to build. In February 2026, Castanet deployed the world’s 5G Broadcast Internet pilot network in Silicon Valley.

At the NAB Show in Las Vegas 2026, Castanet unveiled its commercial-ready 5G Broadcast Internet pilot network. Castanet demonstrated a live hybrid feed from its transmitter atop the Rio Hotel, showing that the two services coexist faultlessly without interfering with each other. Tony Masiello, Castanet’s Chief Network Officer, represented the company in a Broadcast Engineering and IT Conference session alongside Qualcomm, DigiCAP, TRedess, and Neutral Wireless, presenting a test report on ATSC 3.0 + 5G harmonization.

Castanet principals also appeared on official industry programs, reinforcing the company’s thought leadership. Vern Fotheringham joined a hybrid panel alongside Qualcomm at the sold-out LPTV Broadcasters Association annual meeting and later spoke on a panel at the ATSC Annual Meeting in Washington, where Masiello presented a live feed of the combined service from the Las Vegas station. ATSC also profiled CEO Jon Romm in its “Someone You Should Know” series.

Standards Recognition and Regulatory Alignment

Castanet was central to ATSC adopting its architectural approach in Recommended Practice A/327 (including Amendment No. 1, approved March 2026), which documents time-division multiplexing of ATSC 3.0 with other broadcasting systems and incorporates LTE-based 5G Broadcast. 3GPP tracks the same work through Release 19, including UHF-band work relevant to LPTV. Castanet’s current implementation operates fully within existing FCC Broadcast Internet rules.

Why the Investment Case Is Clearer Than Ever

5G Broadcast is moving from a standards discussion toward a commercial device ecosystem, with 5G Broadcast-capable chipsets expected to begin appearing in mobile handsets as early as 2028. The significance is not simply that compatible devices will arrive. It is that the infrastructure Castanet deploys today is designed to serve that market without waiting for it.
“Existing standards, regulations, and Castanet’s software-defined 5G Broadcast Internet network and Software Defined Receivers will meet the growing demand for efficient, large-scale delivery of high demand video and data content,” Romm added. “Our architecture spans transmitter and receiver, so today’s investments are protected whatever the FCC decides next.”

By combining ATSC 3.0 and 5G Broadcast today with a software-defined stack across transmitters, network infrastructure, and receiver devices, operators can deploy, test, and monetize the network now while keeping the flexibility to evolve with the ecosystem. Investments do not depend on a single regulatory outcome, transmission standard, or generation of devices.
For broadcasters, network operators, technology partners, and investors, the question has changed. According to Jon Romm: “It is no longer ‘Should we bet on Castanet 5G Broadcast Internet?’ It is ‘How do we position ourselves for the future of digital media and the inevitable transition to one-to-many wireless data delivery?’”

Castanet will be at NAB East Show New York 2026, Booth 870, and looks forward to meeting broadcasters, content owners, and platform partners there.

About Castanet Corporation

Castanet is pioneering 5G Broadcast Internet - a revolutionary network and platform that uses LPTV broadcast spectrum to deliver live streaming and video on demand, including AI-generated content, directly to consumers at massive scale. By transforming the economics of one-to-many content delivery, Castanet enables broadcasters, content owners, and platform operators to reach audiences with unprecedented efficiency and quality. Leveraging its engagement platform, Castanet works with content owners to deliver and monetize innovative content experiences in the digital era, including the C5G Interactive Live Sports app.

www.castanet5g.com
www.c5g.app

Alexander Renz
Castanet Corporation
+1 206-913-7966
Alex@castanet-5g.com
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