Media Contact: Jackie Jones | Jackie@TruthPR.com | 316-644-9538
Guest Joshua Weiss (Available at NRB)
Co-founder & CEO at ARK Multicasting, Inc.
Entrepreneur & working professional in broadcast television • Experienced in business development and communications • Television network executive • Television producer, cameraman, editor, and on-camera talent • Professor of media and communications
Nation’s Largest Broadcast Internet Network
ARK Multicasting Launches Nation’s Largest Broadcast Internet Network. Broadcaster Lights Up 10 Stations with Hundreds More Planned.
My dad always says, “Broadcasters were wireless before it was cool,” but broadcasters have forgotten that we’re wireless. In my mind, one of the most innovative things that ARK brings to the table is a willingness to look at television spectrum as a wireless data asset and not just a linear television delivery system.
The United States is currently dealing with a $500 billion problem often referenced as the broadband divide. Roughly 50% of homes in the United States do not have sufficient broadband connectivity. While the current offerings are inadequate, the demand for reliable, fast internet access is growing, in part because there is a huge demand for streaming content. Said differently, there are too many trucks crossing the bridge and not enough bridges where we need them most.
“Most people don’t think of broadcast television as a wireless service provider, but that is about to change and ARK is at the forefront” said Mark O’Brien, President of SpectraRep, the distance learning provider being deployed on the first 10 stations. “Remote learning, public safety, and other datacasting mainstays are taken to a whole new level, and new services that we have not even imagined are now possible. SpectraRep is proud to share ARK’s vision and be part of this historic NextGenTV deployment.”
The history of the internet ecosystem shows us that the insatiable demand for data is going to create the market for these receivers as we have seen when consumers have upgraded their devices from 2G to 3G, 3G to 4G, and now the move to 5G. Traditionally in broadcasting, receivers are an afterthought because TVs are the receivers and TVs are ubiquitous. The upgrade cycle for traditional televisions is significantly longer than the cycle of internet devices which is what we now provide. For ARK, TVs are just another device that connects to the internet, and we provide internet connectivity.
Like many other industries, the pandemic has created a shift in mindset, giving us an opening to make necessary changes within the industry. Suddenly, change became essential as people had to work from home and individual demand for data skyrocketed. COVID-19 elevated awareness of the lack of connectivity across the country, and it became a problem that was nearly impossible to ignore. Some students had to drive to local facilities to take advantage of their free Wi-Fi to do their schoolwork. Even when they used Wi-Fi in the parking lots, it was inconsistent to send and receive the content they needed.
In addition to typical media consumption, ARK can facilitate distance learning, where even students without any connectivity can connect and receive content. The power of datacasting can close that gap significantly faster and in a much more cost-efficient way.
About Joshua Weiss
Co-founder & CEO at ARK Multicasting, Inc.
Entrepreneur & working professional in broadcast television • Experienced in business development and communications • Television network executive • Television producer, cameraman, editor, and on-camera talent • Professor of media and communications
Co-Founder and CEO of ARK Multicasting, the largest unencumbered broadcast internet network in the US serving over 100 million people.
In less than 4 years, Josh has led the transformation of his 30-year-old family business to the forefront of 5G and edge computing.
Prior to building ARK, he built and managed the International Broadcasting Network by bringing together key stakeholders in the industry producing and distributing content to over 30 million homes worldwide.
Published author: Broadcast Education Association (“BEA”) and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (“AEJMC”)
Award recipient: Advanced Television Broadcasting Alliance (“ATBA”), the BEA, and the National Religious Broadcasters (“NRB”).
Vice Chair of the NRB TV committee
Serves on the advisory council of the Finestone Leadership Institute at California Southern University and on the advisory committee of the ATBA.
Joshua's Early Start to His Broadcast Career
I began working in broadcasting after graduating high school. My family had a Christian television ministry and my first role there was to handle some of the basic digital elements, like editing, graphic design, and video production. My father had long been engaged in hosting Christian TV programs and building TV stations, and over the last 20 years, he scaled his broadcast assets to be significant, with roughly 300 stations across the country. Because I’d gotten an early start in the business, it was easy for me to follow in his footsteps.
In 2009, we began envisioning these broadcast television stations as datacasting facilities. Work was beginning on a new television standard that would convert traditional TV into internet protocol television (IPTV)—a technology that can deliver both a regular television picture and data files using the language of the internet. This became a reality when the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) adopted a new TV standard called ATSC 3.0. That is why we created ARK in 2018. Since we got started so early, ARK was ahead of the curve and had several new opportunities with broadcast internet services and datacasting.
Today, ARK Multicasting is a 5G wireless data delivery platform that offers a wide range of services like powering ISPs, OTT media providers (streaming services), distance learning, gaming, and cloud services like AWS and Microsoft Azure. Over the last couple of years, we have embraced the latest in technology, building our business strategy to maximize the opportunities available with the 5G revolution.
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