Week ending Aug. 3, 2026 · About a 7-minute read
ATSC has opened a standards path beyond television. Cleveland reportedly put a second certificate provider on air, while ZapperBox scheduled new gateway features and later work on offline reception.
The week in brief
Broadcast-to-Everything gets its first candidate standard. B2X is ATSC’s developing framework for broadcast services that could reach mobile and other non-TV devices. A/391 defines how those devices would first find and enter a B2X signal.
A second certificate provider is reportedly on air in Cleveland. Signal-signing certificates let receivers verify the source of a broadcast. Trade reporting identifies SiliconDust as the provider for WBNX’s new ATSC 3.0 host operation.
ZapperBox expands its whole-home roadmap. New software is scheduled for August. Fully offline reception of protected channels and support for MMT, a delivery system used by some stations, are listed for later releases.
Broadcast-based timing gets renewed attention. Jericho Receivers says its new system can use terrestrial ATSC 3.0 timing signals alongside satellite and network sources.
The FCC is scheduled to vote on the national ownership cap. The outcome could change who makes ATSC 3.0 investment and purchasing decisions, although the proceeding is not an ATSC rulemaking.
ATSC opens public review of its first B2X candidate standard
ATSC approved A/391, “B2X System Discovery and Signaling,” as a candidate standard July 9. B2X stands for Broadcast-to-Everything. The candidate-standard period runs through Sept. 30.
Before a receiver can decode a broadcast, it needs a reliable way to identify the waveform and learn how to enter it. A/321 performs that initial discovery role for ATSC 3.0 television. A/391 uses the same basic idea for B2X.
The new document defines the bootstrap that lets a device identify and enter a B2X radio waveform. It is designed for independent B2X operation in both broadcast and mobile spectrum and can signal services delivered across one or more radio-frequency carriers.
Like the existing ATSC 3.0 bootstrap, the B2X bootstrap gives a receiver a known signal to detect before it understands the rest of the transmission. A/391 adapts that concept to an OFDMA network, with entry signals for whole virtual frames and individual service slices, including narrower versions for reduced-capability devices.
Why it matters: ATSC has opened an implementation path for services and devices beyond conventional television. B2X could give broadcasters a clearer route into automotive and hybrid broadcast-mobile networks. Getting there would require new receiver silicon, test equipment and integration with mobile networks.
What to watch: The candidate-standard period runs through Sept. 30. Implementation feedback and companion work on mobility, spectrum assumptions and battery-powered devices will show how the wider B2X system is taking shape.
Cleveland reportedly uses a second ATSC 3.0 certificate provider
Nexstar launched ATSC 3.0 service in Cleveland using WBNX as the host station, completing deployment across the top 25 U.S. television markets, the company announced July 23.
Most U.S. ATSC 3.0 launches use a host, sometimes called a lighthouse station. The host carries ATSC 3.0 services for several local broadcasters while their legacy ATSC 1.0 services remain available on other stations. WBNX fills that role in Cleveland.
The deployment also carries a less visible milestone. TVNewsCheck reported that WBNX is using signal-signing certificates from SiliconDust, with Heartland Video Systems providing deployment services. The companies’ own public announcements do not independently confirm that detail. SiliconDust announced its ATSC 3.0 certificate authority in November 2025.
Signal signing allows a receiver to verify that a service comes from an authenticated broadcast source and has not been altered. A certificate authority issues the credentials used in that check. This is separate from digital rights management, or DRM, which encrypts some programming and controls which receivers may display it.
ATSC has also proposed amendments to its security documents. Ballots announced in June covered changes to A/360 security and service protection and clarification of the Online Certificate Status Protocol in A/361. That protocol is how a receiver checks whether a certificate remains valid.
Why it matters: Broadcasters now appear to have a second supplier for credentials that receivers require. Cleveland provides a live test of certificate status, renewal and outage handling.
What to watch: The Cleveland deployment will provide operating experience with certificate rotation, receiver compatibility and recovery when status information is expired or unreachable.
ZapperBox adds gateway features, while offline DRM remains on the roadmap
A gateway receives television from an antenna and distributes live or recorded programs to other screens in the home. That is relatively straightforward for unencrypted broadcasts. Protected ATSC 3.0 channels add licensing and device-authentication requirements for the gateway and every viewing device.
ZapperBox’s release notes, updated July 31, schedule version 3.8 and zApp 2.0 for August. Planned features include remote-control commands over IP, smart-home integration and the ability to stream or copy ATSC 1.0 recordings to Windows and macOS computers.
The company says multiroom playback of protected content will remain in beta until version 4.0. Fully offline content protection, which ZapperBox calls group licensing or “never connected mode,” is planned for 2026 but does not have a release date. Support for MPEG Media Transport, or MMT, is due to begin after version 4.0.
ZapperBox says its present implementation caches content-protection keys after a device connects to the internet following startup. That is useful during a later outage, but it is different from a receiver that can be installed and used for protected services without ever going online. Its current FAQ does not recommend the product for households without internet service.
MMT and ROUTE are two ways stations package and deliver ATSC 3.0 television services. A receiver needs the transport used by the station it is trying to receive. ZapperBox says six Sinclair stations use MMT.
Why it matters: ZapperBox is demonstrating a path to a gateway that works with content protection administered by the ATSC 3.0 Security Authority (A3SA). Offline support would help close one of the gaps that opponents have raised with the FCC.
What to watch: ZapperBox’s next listed milestones are general availability of offline licensing, completion of multiroom content protection and MMT reception in markets where broadcasters use it.
Jericho presents ATSC 3.0 as a resilient timing source
Telecommunications networks, power systems, financial systems and data centers all depend on precise time. Satellite navigation systems such as GPS are a common source, but their weak signals can be jammed or spoofed. ATSC’s Broadcast Positioning System, or BPS, is intended to distribute a timing reference over terrestrial television signals, giving users another path alongside satellite and network sources.
Jericho Receivers announced June 30 that its Software-Defined Atomic Clock was available for evaluation and deployment. The item received renewed attention in late July when ATSC President Madeleine Noland highlighted it as an example of ATSC 3.0 use beyond media delivery.
The company says the product can use Broadcast Positioning System signals to maintain precise timing when satellite signals are jammed, spoofed or unavailable.
Public product information describes the architecture and intended uses. It does not list detailed accuracy specifications or markets supplying a production BPS timing input.
The underlying BPS timing approach has independent technical support. A 2025 NAB and National Institute of Standards and Technology paper reported a timing-stability measurement below 2 nanoseconds in a live-station trial. That study did not test Jericho’s product, and the broadcast transmitter used a satellite-disciplined reference.
Why it matters: Broadcasters and the NAB have presented BPS as a practical service for critical infrastructure. Jericho’s product adds credibility to the case that BPS could become commercially viable.
What to watch: Look for rollout plans and beta trials of the service and technology.
FCC ownership vote could reshape ATSC 3.0 investment
The Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to vote Thursday, Aug. 6, on replacing the 39% national television ownership cap with case-by-case review of station transactions. The commission’s August meeting page contains the agenda and draft item.
The current rule limits the combined national reach of television stations under common ownership. The proposed order would remove that fixed limit and have the FCC evaluate future transactions individually under its public-interest standard.
The proposal has support from the National Association of Broadcasters and major station groups. Opponents dispute whether the FCC has authority to eliminate a limit established by Congress.
Ownership structure still affects ATSC 3.0 investment. Larger station groups may be able to centralize transmission upgrades, security operations and datacasting capacity. Consolidation could also concentrate equipment purchasing among fewer groups.
What to watch: The final order may show whether the FCC treats ATSC 3.0 investment as a public-interest benefit.
About ATSC Now
ATSC Now is a free weekly briefing on the policy, standards, receivers, deployments and business activity shaping ATSC 3.0.
Written by Mark Barrington and published by Barrington Technology. ATSC Now is an independent publication and is not affiliated with ATSC. All opinions are our own.