Finns to broadcast Bitcoin data over TV network

A Finnish project aims to broadcast transactional data for crypto currency Bitcoin over digital television transmissions around the world, using Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial (DVB-T) networks.

The Koodilehto KryptoRadio project said the signal will transmit Bitcoin transaction data in real time, creating opportunities for innovation around the crypto currency as well as making it more resilient to attacks . It would also ensure any transactions will be impossible to trace, as the signal only goes one way.

Building a resilient, anonymous network that is not dependent on the internet for transmitting Bitcoin block data has become an important goal for proponents of the crypto currency.

In April this year, a venture called BitSat that uses a network of global satellites was floated, seeking millions of dollars in funding through a Kickstarter-like campaign. It is not known how far BitSat has come in its plans to take Bitcoin into orbit.

By using DVB-T, Bitcoin data can be hidden from the public internet without having to rely on complex transmission encryption schemes such as The Onion Router (TOR).

The project pilot kicks off on September 1 with a broadcast area that covers 95 percent of Finland's population, or roughly five million people.

Koodilehto has negotiated space on Finnish provider Digita's nationwide network for all-day broadcasts of Bitcoin data.

According to Koodilehto, the cost per month of broadcasting Bitcoin data in Finland will be around 2,000 euro (A$2,900)a month, with users having cheap receivers that do not use cellular telco networks.

The service can be used globally, Koodilehto said, as DVB-T is a worldwide digital television signal broadcasting standard that is used in Europe, Russia, much of Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India and South East Asia.

Australia uses the DVB-T MPEG-2 transmission system and New Zealand the newer DVB-T MPEG-4 standard.