Use Case: COFDM to 5G Bridging for Extended Mission Video Access

Mission Challenge

Many public safety and defense agencies rely on COFDM-based airborne video downlink systems (AVDS) to deliver long-range, low-latency video from aircraft to ground receive sites. These RF systems remain highly effective for airborne capture in complex environments.

However, traditional COFDM deployments typically terminate at a local receiver. Extending that live video beyond the immediate receive location – to regional headquarters, mobile command vehicles or partner agencies – often requires additional infrastructure.

Helicopters operating in remote environments can use hybrid RF/5G transmission systems

As operations become more distributed, agencies need a way to extend RF video feeds across wider operational networks without replacing existing AVDS investments.

Solution Overview

For agencies already operating COFDM AVDS systems, a practical solution is to use Mobile Commander as a receive-and-bridge platform.

Mobile Commander can:

• Receive COFDM airborne video locally
• Ingest the RF feed directly at the ground location
• Uplink that video over bonded 4G/5G public cellular networks

By aggregating multiple public cellular carriers, Mobile Commander extends the reach of COFDM video beyond the RF footprint, delivering live feeds to remote command centres, distributed teams or centralized video management platforms.

This approach preserves the reliability of COFDM for the airborne link while using bonded cellular to handle broader distribution.

Operational Impact

Extend Existing AVDS Deployments; agencies can enhance their current COFDM infrastructure without major system redesign.

Example scenarios:

• Aviation units operating with established RF receive sites that now need regional visibility
• National-level command centres requiring live feeds from local airborne assets
• Multi-agency coordination during large-scale or cross-jurisdictional incidents

Enable Mobile Command Distribution; when deployed in a vehicle, Mobile Commander allows COFDM feeds to be received and immediately retransmitted over public cellular networks.

Example scenarios:

• Temporary forward command posts during disaster response
• Tactical repositioning of command assets during active incidents
• Remote deployments where fixed backhaul is unavailable

Hybrid networks use the security of COFDM feeds from the air with the flexibility of using private or public 5G networks

Conclusion

COFDM to 5G bridging enables public safety agencies to extend the operational reach of existing airborne RF systems without replacing proven infrastructure. By receiving COFDM video locally and uplinking it via bonded public 4G/5G networks, agencies can distribute live feeds far beyond the immediate receive site.

This hybrid RF and cellular model combines the reliability of COFDM for airborne capture with the flexibility and reach of modern cellular networks for distribution. The result is a scalable workflow that supports distributed command structures, mobile operations and multi-agency coordination — while preserving existing AVDS investments and maintaining operational continuity.