Will I need a filter when the 5G mobile broadband services start in 2020?

5G services are like a giant giltterball Photograph: Shutterstock

Brian Butterworth published on UK Free TV 11th March 2019 at 13:30

Freeview Deja vu

Yes, we have been here before.   Back in January 2013, UK Free TV looked at the upcoming issues with the potential problems that 4G mobile broadband might cause for Freeview.

The issue arose because the new mobile broadband services were using frequencies that had been used for Freeview and analogue TV before them.   The peaceful coexistence of digital television and digital mobile data services was expected, but not a given.

The good news is that the projected levels of problems for Freeview users turned out to be quite accurate and quite low.   The Hundreds of millions that were put aside have been returned to the mobile broadband companies, lowering the price to their customers. 

5G

The new generation of mobile broadband services will operate in addition to the current ones (GSM, 3G and 4G) in the UK, and will use the 700MHz band of frequencies have been “cleared” by several years of careful chess-like manipulation of the frequencies that Freeview uses.

The new generation of services will use much smaller “cells” of operation from each mobile mast.   Each mobile phone tower will be like a immobile glitter-ball, diving into many hundreds the sub-areas operated from each mobile phone mast.   Tests have shown that this will be able to increase the real-world data rates for each mobile broadband customer.

Will I need my existing filter?

If you already had a 4G mobile phone filter, once all of the Freeview frequency changes have happened (June 2020) you will be able to remove it from you TV set or set top box as it will no longer be required.  

It won’t protect you from the 5G services, so you will need to send it for suitable recycling.  

Will I need a 5G 700MHz filter?

The quick answer is probably not.

The longer answer is that you will need to get a (free, presumably) filter if:

• Your TV aerial points in the direction of a 5G mobile tower; and
• Your Freeview signal is sub-optimal; and
• You are using a TV signal amplifier.

If the above conditions are true, you will also need to be:

• Using a multiplex broadcast on C47 or C48 – the new top of the Freeview range;
• Have a mast with a 5G service (they will take years to roll out)
• Be using the BBCB multiplex for Freeview HD (as they will use C47/C48)

I have updated the page at  https://ukfree.tv/at700/list/all to highlight the transmitters with C47/C48 after 700MHz clearance is complete.