The 1,000-foot-plus antenna towers dominating the suburban skyline in Needham and Newton have been broadcasting TV signals since the 1950s.
But as the over-the-air television industry tries to modernize and stay relevant, the towers also have become a potential launching pad for new communications and precision location technologies from a Boston startup called EdgeBeam Wireless.
Edgebeam, which is backed by four of the largest national TV station owners, is taking advantage of the latest technique for broadcasting digital television signals to build a national data network and a location tracking service that could be more accurate than GPS — which could be useful for engineering, construction, and other tasks requiring precision. And because EdgeBeam’s services ride alongside TV signals broadcast from big towers, the startup avoids the expense cellphone companies have of building a vast network of transmitters.
“One set of towers covers all of Boston and that gives us something that’s different from everybody else,” chief executive Conrad Clemson said in an interview from the company’s Seaport office. “We’re actually using that infrastructure that’s out there and in place to create some very unique data services.”
However, the new services require users to install compatible receivers, so the initial planned offerings are aimed at large business customers, not the mass market. To start, EdgeBeam is looking for customers that need one set of data simultaneously distributed to multiple places, such as a car manufacturer sending a software update wirelessly to all cars of a certain model or an ad agency sending video advertisements to digital billboards along highways.
Ultimately, in a twist on the move from broadcast TV to streaming video, EdgeBeam could send popular streamed programming, like the Super Bowl, say, to phones and computers using broadcast spectrum instead of traditional wireless networks.
Distributing digital data is a competitive market, however, with cellular and broadband companies already serving those customers. But because of EdgeBeam’s simpler network setup, it plans to offer customers set fees for transmitting data instead of charging per gigabyte.
The startup’s location tracking service could provide pinpoint accuracy without the power-draining demands of some augmented GPS receivers. Using the same signals carrying TV programming, EdgeBeam transmits a precise timing signal known as the Broadcast Positioning System, or BPS, that can be used to locate a position with an accuracy of inches, even if GPS signals are unavailable, Clemson said.
The signals from TV towers are much stronger than signals from satellites, making them less prone to interference or jamming, according to Thejesh Bandi, a professor of physics at the University of Alabama who has conducted BPS tests. In a trial around Boulder, Colo., a BPS system showed “promising performance” as a “credible supplemental source” for positioning, navigation, and timing, he said.
EdgeBeam’s data and location services can ride alongside digital TV signals, thanks to the latest broadcasting industry standard called ATSC 3.0.
Congress first required TV stations to switch to digital signals in 2009 via a standard known as ATSC 1.0, and provided funding to pay for converter boxes for consumers with older television sets. The move to ATSC 3.0 has been bumpier, without a Congressional mandate or government subsidies for consumers.
So far, TV stations adopting the new standard have continued to also broadcast programs via the earlier standard, but the Federal Communications Commission is considering rules that could speed up or slow down the transition.
Four large local TV station owners — Nexstar Media Group, Gray Media, The E.W. Scripps Company, and Sinclair — are backing EdgeBeam with an undisclosed amount of funding and allowing the startup to access their stations’ airwaves. The company won’t need to raise external funding from venture capital funds or others for about two more years, Clemson said.
The four partners own hundreds of stations covering about three-quarters of the US population, including in Springfield and Providence but not Boston. EdgeBeam is striking partnerships with stations in Boston and other markets to expand its coverage to almost everyone in the country, Clemson said.
EdgeBeam isn’t the first tech startup Clemson, 61, has run in Boston.
He got his start at Stratus Computer when the Natick company had just 12 employees and stayed through an initial public offering and sale to Ascend Communications. In 2009, he founded and ran BNI Video, a television tech platform bought by Cisco Systems, and later ran Watertown software firm EditShare.
He joined EdgeBeam last fall, just months after it was formed, and decided to base the startup in Boston.
“We have a great talent pool around telecom, networking, and switching here,” he said.
The company employs about 25 people and will double in size by year end, Clemson said.
The early stage of this startup is “a fun time in a company, because we’re when you go from a slide deck and a blank sheet of paper to a functioning company,” he said.
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🧠 Cambridge-based Unreasonable Labs, developing generative AI to solve scientific problems, raised $13.5 million in a deal led by Playground Global.
🌾 Agriculture tech startup AgZen in Somerville raised $10 million in a deal led by DCVC Bio.
🤝 AI agent developer Quotient AI in Boston was acquired by Databricks, based in San Francisco. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
👋 Insurance tech firm Openly in Boston added Michael Watson, founder and former chief executive of Canopius Group, and Mark Flaherty, previously senior partner and vice chair at Wellington Management, to its board of directors.
🔒 Authentication tech company Crane NXT in Waltham added Jeffrey Benck, chief executive of Benchmark Electronics, to its board of directors. Current board member James L.L. Tullis is stepping down.
👁️ Biometric tech firm Aware in Burlington said chief technology officer Mohamed Lazzouni left the company.
🩺 Health care software firm eClinical Solutions in Boston hired Lauren Whitsell as chief operating officer. Whitsell previously was chief product and operations officer at STARLIMS.
✈️ Electric aviation maker Beta Technologies was selected to participate in seven federal pilot programs, including allowing it to begin medical and cargo flights between Vermont and New York later this year.
🚗 Autonomous vehicle developer Motional in Boston announced a robotaxi trial in Las Vegas in partnership with Uber.
💉 Whoop expanded its features for women with a $299 blood test panel to examine thyroid function, nutrient sufficiency, bone–metabolic resilience, and perimenopause.
What We’re Reading
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“This Is Not The Computer For You” (Sam Henri Gold blog)
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Aaron Pressman can be reached at aaron.pressman@globe.com. Follow him @ampressman.