Fear not, the issue of interfering signals between Digital Terrestrial Television (DTTV) and 4G is going to be addressed by Ed Vaizey with a little help from a £180m fund.
If you were wondering where the money is coming from, it will be coughed up from the cash mobile operators are going to bid for the spectrum.
As a quick reminder, 3 per cent of the UK is using DTTV services, the receivers of which have been set up to receive signals from the 470-862MHz band. Coincidentally, the spectrum which has been repurposed for 4G mobile broadband is 790-862MHz. You might notice the overlapping.
Previously the latter band was used for analogue television (TV) services but these will soon become extinct as soon as the Digital Switchover is completed (by 2013).
The Government’s Communications Minister, Ed Vaizey, stated in the newest DCMS update:
“More and more of us are using smartphones and tablets to access the Internet. Releasing more spectrum is essential to enable industry to meet this growing demand.
“Next generation mobile services are essential for economic growth. They will bring an estimated benefit of £2-3 billion to the UK economy.
“There will be some interference when 4G services are rolled-out but we will have the solutions in place to eliminate the disruption to television viewers.”
The reports suggested that Ofcom is going to launch a consultation analysing the best solutions to prevent overlapping. Thoughts include implementing filters, changing aerial, among other solutions. The elderly will be given special considerations as well.
