The great digital dividend sale
Brian Butterworth published on UK Free TV Ofcom will be selling off the frequencies that are no longer required for television in the Digital Dividend Sale.
This will include:
- The 'cleared spectrum' 550-630 MHz and 790-854 MHz
- The 'interleaved spectrum' 470 - 550 MHz and 630 - 790 MHz
Summary of sale
C21-C30 - digital terrestrial television plus low power use at interleaved sites
C21: (470-478MHz) DTT plus interleaved C21 at Belmont, Bilsdale, Caldbeck
C22: (478-486MHz) DTT plus interleaved C22 at Londonderry
C23: (486-494MHz) DTT plus interleaved C23 at Belmont, Ridge Hill, Sandy Heath
C24: (494-502MHz) DTT plus interleaved C24 at Bilsdale
C25: (502-510MHz) DTT
C26: (510-518MHz) DTT plus interleaved C26 at Sheffield
C27: (518-526MHz) DTT
C28: (526-534MHz) DTT
C29: (534-542MHz) DTT plus interleaved C29 at Bromsgrove, Crystal Palace, Fenton, Oxford, Rowridge, Sutton Coldfield, The Wrekin
C30: (542-550MHz) DTT plus interleaved C30 at Bressay, Bristol Kings Weston, Brougher Mountain, Caradon Hill, Craigkelly, Darvel, Divis, Durris, Eitshal, Fenham, Kilvey Hill, Lancaster, Moel-y-Parc, Pendle Forest, Perth, Presely, Ridge Hill, Rowridge, Stockland Hill, Storeton, Wenvoe
C31 - C40 Lower band sale
C31: (550-558MHz) Lower band for sale
C32: (558-566MHz) Lower band for sale
C33: (566-574MHz) Lower band for sale
C34: (574-582MHz) Lower band for sale
C35: (582-590MHz) Lower band for sale
C36: (590-598MHz) RADAR cleared by 2009 - for sale
C37: (598-606MHz) Lower band for sale
C38: (606-614MHz) Radio astronomy to be cleared by 2012 - for sale (low power use)
C39: (614-622MHz) Lower band for sale
C40: (622-630MHz) Lower band for sale
C41-C62 - digital terrestrial television plus low power use at interleaved sites
C41: (630-638MHz) DTT
C42: (638-646MHz) DTT plus interleaved C42 at Crystal Palace
C43: (646-654MHz) DTT plus interleaved C43 at Hannington, Saddleworth
C44: (654-662MHz) DTT
C45: (662-670MHz) DTT plus interleaved C45 at Emley Moor, Heathfield, Luton
C46: (670-678MHz) DTT plus interleaved C46 at Midhurst
C47: (678-686MHz) DTT plus interleaved C48 at Angus, Black Hill, Caldbeck, Fremont Point, Keelylang Hill, Lark Stoke, Rosneath, The Wrekin
C48: (686-694MHz) DTT plus interleaved C49 at Beacon Hill, Dover, Hannington, Hemel Hempstead, Oxford, Plympton, Salisbury, Sandy Heath, Sudbury, Tacolneston
C49: (694-702MHz) DTT
C50: (702-710MHz) DTT plus interleaved C50 at Poole
C51: (710-718MHz) DTT plus interleaved C51 at Balgownie, Black Hill, Huntshaw Cross, Ilchester Crescent, Llanddona, Malvern, Pontop Pike, Port St Mary (IoM), Reigate, Sutton Coldfield, Tay Bridge, Tunbridge Wells, Wenvoe
C52: (718-726MHz) DTT plus interleaved C52 at Carmel, Craigkelly, Londonderry, Rosemarkie, Rumster Forest,
C53: (726-734MHz) DTT
C54: (734-742MHz) DTT plus interleaved C54 at Guildford, Heathfield, Whitehawk Hill
C55: (742-750MHz) DTT plus interleaved C55 at Mendip, Redruth, Waltham
C56: (750-758MHz) DTT plus interleaved C56 at Bluebell Hill, Brierley Hill, Divis, Emley Moor, Keighley, Kidderminster, Knock more, Limavady, Olivers Mount, Pontop Pike, Selkirk, Winter Hill
C57: (758-766MHz) DTT plus intervleaved C57 at Dover, Sudbury, Tacolneston, Winter Hill
C58: (766-774MHz) DTT
C59: (774-782MHz) DTT plus interleaved C59 at Mendip, Waltham
C60: (782-790MHz) DTT plus interleaved C60 at Winter Hill
C61: (790-798MHz) DTT plus national interleaved
C62: (798-806MHz) DTT, national interleaved plus interleaved C62 at Nottingham
C63-C68 Upper band sale
C63: (806-814MHz) Upper band for sale
C64: (814-822MHz) Upper band for sale
C65: (822-830MHz) Upper band for sale
C66: (830-838MHz) Upper band for sale
C67: (838-846MHz) Upper band for sale
C68: (846-854MHz) Upper band for sale
C69 Programme-making and special events
C69: (854-862MHz) Programme-making and special events (PMSE)
Help with TV/radio stations?
In this section
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
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Nedbod1:39 PM
Will the main Winter Hill FREEVIEW transmissiions in NW England be affected by the 4G network switch on and if so will it simply be cheaper to ditch FREEVIEW and buy FREESAT with all the extra capacity benefits and wider choice of channels than wasting additional money on additional FREEVIEW equipment (just as the countey goes completely TV digital).
It would have been good for the government to have warned potential FREEVIEW purchasers beforehand that some of them would have to shell out a fortune in additional equipment (in most case dearer than their original box) in order to block 4G interferance. You couldn't make this up if you tried.
Just like they weren't very open about FREEVIEW LITE in most of the the areas served by relay transmitters, where many people would have opted for FREESAT if they had been made fully aware of the restricted number of multiplexes and channels in these locations.
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Mike Dimmick2:32 PM
Nedbod: The BBC A and ArqA multiplexes will move from their current channels, C62 and C61 respectively, to C50 and C49, some time in April 2013 (current plan, no specific date given). D3&4 will remain on C59 so *could* be affected by interference from 4G transmissions.
Whether your TV reception will be affected will depend on where the 4G base stations are located compared to your line-of-sight to Winter Hill, and the exact frequencies that each one uses. A 30 MHz band has been allocated for downlink (transmissions from base station to phone), from 791 to 821 MHz, in probably 5 MHz chunks (values of 10, 15 and 20 MHz are also supported, with more bandwidth providing higher bitrates, but the higher bandwidths - hence fewer channels - would means fewer cells could be fit in before having to repeat). The risk is of introducing intermodulation through too-high signals overall, though it has also been found that receivers (set-top boxes and TVs) tend to suffer poorer sensitivity when there is a loud transmission in an adjacent channel.
If a filter is required, C59 will require a shallower roll-off than for C60, but it would still be relatively steep, many dBs of roll-off over only about 8 MHz. It's possible that some filters would cost more than some Freeview equipment, but only because the equipment is now down to under £20!
The plan is for the spectrum auction winners to provide a fund for any necessary filters, and if a practical filter is not possible for this customer, to fund an alternative means of reception. There are concerns that the fund, for which £180m has been suggested as the total sum, is not large enough.
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Wednesday, 12 September 2012
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Nedbod11:38 AM
Nedbod: Thanks Mike for a very comprehensive and helpful response. I still think we should have been warned of this possibility before deciding which DIGITAL option to take. I personally would have opted for FREESAT if I had known in advance that interference was even a possibility on FREEVIEW.
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