Andre Yoskowitz
16 Nov 2009 23:12
The BBC has announced the timetable for the much anticipated Freeview HD service, saying that 50 percent off the population will have the service in time for the World Cup next year, and 99 percent will have it by 2012.
The rollout begins in December for major cities, and places like London should have it before March 2010.
Says the BBC: New DVB-T2 technology will deliver an increase in capacity of 67% to the BBC's Multiplex B, efficiently creating the space needed for UK public service broadcasters' HD transmissions. The UK will be the first country in the world to launch this new standard, and its successful implementation is the result of pioneering work by the BBC in collaboration with partners including Ofcom, Arqiva, Siemens and receiver manufacturers. To view Freeview HD, audiences will need equipment containing this new technology. Freeview HD receivers (set-top boxes, digital television recorders and integrated televisions) will be available from early 2010.
Adds Caroline Thomson, the BBC's COO: "This is a terrific step forward, and it's a great achievement that the BBC and its partners have been able to work together to overcome some really difficult technical challenges to bring HD to the Freeview platform through world-leading innovation. We're really excited about the prospect of seeing BBC HD and HD channels from the other public service broadcasters on Freeview next year."
Full timetable:
England
Area - transmitter group - date
Manchester, Winter Hill, 2 December 2009
London, Crystal Palace, 2 December 2009 – advance network
Newcastle and Tyneside, Pontop Pike, February 2010 – advance network
Leeds/Bradford, Emley Moor, March 2010 – advance network
Birmingham, Lichfield, March 2010 – advance network
Liverpool, central Lancashire, Cheshire, north Staffordshire, Winter Hill relays, March 2010 – retrofit
Exeter, parts of Devon, Somerset, Dorset, Stockland Hill, April 2010 – retrofit
Bristol, Somerset, Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Mendip, April 2010
Devon, Cornwall, and the Isles of Scilly, Beacon Hill, Caradon Hill, Huntshaw Cross, Redruth August 2010 – retrofit
Cumbria and the Lake District, Caldbeck, October 2010 – retrofit
Then Freeview HD rolls out with the rest of the switchover programme, so:
201 – Bedfordshire, Berkshire (parts), Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, East Anglia, East Midlands, East Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Humberside, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire (parts), Stoke-on-Trent, West Midlands (remainder), and West Yorkshire (remainder).
2012 – Berkshire (remainder), County Durham, Greater London (remainder), Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Northumberland, North Yorkshire, Surrey, Sussex, Teesside, Tyneside.
Wales
Cardiff, Newport, Wenvoe, March 2010
Swansea, Kilvey Hill, March 2010 – retrofit
West and central Wales, Blaenplwyf, March 2010
Carmarthenshire, Carmel, April 2010 – retrofit
Rest of Wales, Long Mountain, Moel y Parc, Presely mid-June 2010 – retrofit
Anglesey, Llanddona, July 2010 – retrofit
Wales will have switched over to digital and the roll-out of Freeview HD will be complete by the end of July 2010.
Scotland
Glasgow, central Scotland, Black Hill, February 2010 – advance network
Shetland, Bressay, May 2010
Orkney, Keelylang Hill, May 2010
Caithness, North Sutherland, Rumster Forest, mid-June 2010
Lewis, Wester Ross, North West Sutherland, Western Isles, Eitshal Skriaig, July 2010
Angus, Dundee, Perth, and parts of Fife, Angus, August 2010
Aberdeenshire, Durris, September 2010
Morayshire, Strathspey, and parts of Easter Ross, Knockmore, October 2010
South West Scotland, Caldbeck Scotland, October 2010
Inverness and the Great Glen, Rosemarkie, October 2010
South West Highlands and Islands, Torosay, October 2010
Scottish Borders, Selkirk, November 2010 – retrofit
Then Freeview HD rolls out with the rest of the switchover programme so that the whole of Scotland is switched over to digital and will be able to receive Freeview HD by the end of Q2, 2011.
Northern Ireland
Freeview HD rolls out with the rest of the switchover programme so that the whole of Northern Ireland is switched over to digital and will be able to receive Freeview HD by the end of 2012.
Other areas
Isle of Man, Douglas, October 2010 – retrofit
Channel Islands, Fremont Point, end 2010