It seems that around 900,000 homes may need to get a special filter to be able to keep on watching Freeview from 2013.
We first reported on this story in June 2011 (Freeview Interference Forecast), when it was estimated that 760,000 homes could be affected. The Government now puts the estimate at nearer 900,000
Freeview Interference?
As you’ll be aware, the Digital Switchover completes this year, and once it’s over, the space that was used for some analogue TV services will be sold off to mobile operators to launch the UK’s 4G mobile Internet service.
This means that there will be new mobile phone base stations popping up around the UK that will be transmitting on frequencies that your TV aerial is optimised for – and those close to masts, or with signal boosters fitted, will be pulling in unwanted 4G signals. It’s expected that these signals will ‘overload’ Freeview receivers, causing the picture to break up and be unwatchable. Users with 4G mobile devices, such as new smartphones and tablets, will also potentially be adding to the interference.
The fix?
The Government has just announced that all homes affected will be offered filters which connect between the TV aerial and Freeview receivers, to block signals from 4G transmitters. The proposed scheme to ensure that the 900,000 homes can still get Freeview is expected to cost £180 million to implement, and will involve the following:
- Supplying self-install filters to affected homes
- A help scheme for over-75s and the disabled for filters to be fitted
- For the estimated 10,000 homes that can’t be helped by a filter, installation of a satellite dish
- For the estimated 500 homes in rural areas that still can’t get a signal, help for “up to £10,000” to get a fibre-optic TV service installed
Paying the bill for the £180 million 4G filtering will be the responsibility of the companies that win the 4G contacts in the 2013 spectrum bidding.
And what is 4G?
High-speed mobile Internet access for smartphone and mobile computer users. When it starts to roll out in 2013, speeds of up to 100Mbps will begin to become available, offering an improvement on the 3G speeds mobile users get at the moment. According to Ed Vaizey, the minister in charge of UK media, “Next-generation mobile services are essential for economic growth. They will bring an estimated benefit of £2-3bn to the UK economy.”
2013 will no doubt be an interesting year…
I doubt if this will be totally self install if you have an amplifier in the loft the filter is needed in the loft between aerial and Amplifier to prevent the amp from becoming saturated.
Interesting:- I’m in a poor signal area, I have a triple high gain aerial with built-in amplifier, where would I put a filter if required?.Hope suitable narrow band aerials become available.
It would be better if our local repeater carried all channels rather than just the public service channels
why? did they let this go ahead if it’s going to cause problems
switch over should mean more channels to receive now it seems like
we will receive nothing
The Government charging for 4G channels is just a money-making exercise. The Government should be allocating channels but not charging for the use of spectrum which, like air, is a natural resource.
Also, those of us who use Radio Mics, hitherto on Channel 69, have been told that our mics will be allocated Ch 38 as 4G will be using 69 after switchover. At great expense we will have to scrap our old mic channels.
Now we have this potential new horror – 4G causing interference with our Freeview channels.
All this so the Government can have another source of money! Ugh!
As I understand it, the problem really arises due to the lack of selectivity of many of the devices in the chain. If this is the case, the positioning of the filter in the chain may not be as critical in many cases. There will be many equipments that have sufficient front-end selectivity as not to need additional filtering. This is all basic radio technology and what we are talking about is not discrepancies in the transmitted 4G signals but rather the failure of manufacturers to design for quality instead of down to a price. Similar situation to car locking and security systems. For the gentleman concerned about his amplified antenna there should not be a problem unless the 4G signal is of sufficiently high level as to cause intermod in the amplifier. If filtering of out-of-band signals is required in order to protect items further along the receive then the filter can be installed immediately before the affected item. Domestic radio and television has a long history of being affected by out-of-band, legitimate signals due to poor design and installation.
Is this why I am losing Freeview channels that I used to be able to receive?
One of the channels I have lost is ITV4 which my husband is not happy about because he likes to watch the sport they occasionally have on, as we are pensioners we are not able to afford Sky or Virgin.
No. The 4G service doesn’t launch until 2013, so it’s not causing a problem (yet)
See https://www.radioandtelly.co.uk/freeviewhelp/missing.html for help on how to fix missing channel problems.
Seems like we are all being conned yet again, we had to pay out when analogue was scrapped, now it seems that the Government is allowing a company to cause deliberate interference to our Freeview, if we done that we would be fined for doing it, like many CB users did to analogue tv and FM radio, My Freeview is built into the tv, are we going to be compensated for losses caused by 4G?, the best plan is not to let 4G go ahead until they can sort the problem at their end first…
I wonder how many filters they will provide? there are 5 televisions in this house only one with built in freeview, 2 use set top boxes and 2 computers have usb tv receivers. according to a local planning notice there will be a 4g phone mast about 500 feet from the house. if problems are anything like i had in the past with a local radio ham ( the tvs would loose picture and change channel when he was transmitting morse on high power) I can see 4g having to pay for a cable or satellite connection
If you live in a rural area and you cannot receive freeview it is very very unlikely that £10k will bring fibre to the door for TV nor anything else. the only way for country folk to get connected is to move to a city!
A nice little earner for those selling and fitting filters. Those thinking of updating their TV equipment might consider ‘Freesat’, the government haven’t mucked it up yet and nor should 4G.
The lady who has lost ITV4 should look at http://www.dtg.org.uk/ The ‘Industry’ section includes a section which lists which programmes are broadcast on specific muxes. ITV4 is on the same mux as ‘Film 4’ and ‘Yesterday’, if she can’t get these either it seems that retuning may be required. Note this list has pre and post switchover info.
Linda Doyle……try retuning you Freeview box. You should get all your lost channels back. Hope this works for you.
This might cause “the picture to break up and be unwatchable”? Existing services do that quite well right now!
Linda Doyle
If you’re on the Mendip Tx it may be because they cut one channel to quarter power much to the annoyance of my sister who’s lost several programs.
Changes take place for those ‘looking’ at Mendip on March 28th (requires re-tune) after which all muxes will be transmitting at 100Kwatt.
http://www.digitaluk.co.uk
This link gives the info, provided you lie and tick the box to say you are ‘in the trade’. Hover your mouse pointer over the mux number to see the power. Currently ARQA (Create & Craft, Sky News) is worst at 12.5Kw.
here we go again . . yet another money making scheme set up by our stupid ass government!!
no thought for the hundreds and thousands of people who has spent hundreds of pounds on tv’s with built in freeview only to get a screen full of pixelated blocks of colour!!! … what fu@&@ing joy!!! .. since this bo@%%£#cs of a switchover happened i have gone from recieving 60 or so channels to 20 or so channels of pixelated rubbish !! and now they are saying its to do with interference from other sources!! and to get away from these interruptions we have to pay out more for these “filters” (more money !!) before analoge was switched off we had great reception.. 70 or so pixel sharp channels and we were very happy with it all .. ,but now its all see to be a waste of money ( which the government does’nt seem to give a toss about!!) the only thing they care about is money , money , money and more money ,, and sqeezing this country dry…
regards from not a happy bunny !!
Tony, if your rant is aimed at the current government then you are being a little unfair as the digital switchover, and all of its technical requirements, was decided years ago (post 1997?) in complete agreement with our European neighbours in order to avoid continental interference.
If you want to blame a government, look to Labour and its ministers who approved the UK situation, which is one we are now committed to, unless, of course, you approve a massive re investment in our terrestrial transmission infrastructure?
Get real, buy a decent aerial system or a freesat dish and box (not a big investment if you’re a real TV fan) and stop blaming someone else for your own miserly ways.