Remember when there was the hype about how people's freeview signal was going to be effected by the launch of 4G, since it's nearly 2 years since 4G has launched has it been as bad as the press made out?
Remember when there was the hype about how people's freeview signal was going to be effected by the launch of 4G, since it's nearly 2 years since 4G has launched has it been as bad as the press made out?
It's bad for me. There are times I can't watch the BBC Mux as it breaks up too much.
It was stupid selling off that frequency and then selling off the one for 4G right next to it.
Remember when there was the hype about how people's freeview signal was going to be effected by the launch of 4G, since it's nearly 2 years since 4G has launched has it been as bad as the press made out?
Remember when there was the hype about how people's freeview signal was going to be effected by the launch of 4G, since it's nearly 2 years since 4G has launched has it been as bad as the press made out?
Daily Mail-esqe headlines rarely relate to anything factual. The mobile operators have strict rules to adhere to, with provisions to reduce interference. For example, 4G equipment may be installed at the same transmitter sites as Freeview!
Where Freeview and 4G at 800 MHz are far apart, there is unlikely to be any problems. Places like Brighton and the Brierley Hill area of the West Midlands have encountered issues - where Freeview and 4G are closer together, but it's not widespread and it appears fairly easy to manage.
at800, the company responsible for mitigating 4G interference on Freeview, are regulars on various BBC local radio stations. They admit that a small number of households do get affected, for example if they live right next to a new 4G mast. In recent radio interviews, such as the one on BBC Tees last week, the emphasis is now on giving them a ring and having an engineer assess if the problem is 4G related.
It is worth keeping an eye out on the Three 4G roll-out thread in the mobile phone section of this forum.
Why?
Because Three has been allocated 791-796 MHz, the closest 4G frequencies to the current TV band. This could, for example, cause problems if Three's 4G was deployed in an area where Freeview uses UHF channel 59 or 60 (778 / 786 MHz) and was either high powered or a household's TV aerial was pointing at or almost at the mast that was within a few hundred metres of the house.
The Three 4G rollout thread has the latest on Three's rollout, so you can read for yourself how it (isn't) being rolled out (yet).
So in a nutshell the network that has the frequencies closest to Freeview TV is only just preparing to launch a service at 800, and will be concentrating on serving rural areas.
The next closest allocation to Freeview is EE's - 796 to 801 MHz. Last summer, EE confirmed:
We don’t expect to rollout 800MHz everywhere: it is most useful in rural areas to increase our reach into remote spots, and we may also use it in a small number of urban areas to provide extra indoor penetration.
Again, it's not going to be used everywhere, limiting the knock on effect on Freeview. With so much consolidation taking place in the market, by the time the mobile network operators need to max out their 800 MHz allocations, it'll be time for Freeview to move further downband.
Fortunately, the latest D-Book of technical standards for terrestrial TV has provisions for the future 700 MHz clearance, reducing its impact for those with Freeview devices developed under these standards.
Comments
It's bad for me. There are times I can't watch the BBC Mux as it breaks up too much.
It was stupid selling off that frequency and then selling off the one for 4G right next to it.
Which transmitter are you using?
No it's not, as I've said all along
Daily Mail-esqe headlines rarely relate to anything factual. The mobile operators have strict rules to adhere to, with provisions to reduce interference. For example, 4G equipment may be installed at the same transmitter sites as Freeview!
Where Freeview and 4G at 800 MHz are far apart, there is unlikely to be any problems. Places like Brighton and the Brierley Hill area of the West Midlands have encountered issues - where Freeview and 4G are closer together, but it's not widespread and it appears fairly easy to manage.
at800, the company responsible for mitigating 4G interference on Freeview, are regulars on various BBC local radio stations. They admit that a small number of households do get affected, for example if they live right next to a new 4G mast. In recent radio interviews, such as the one on BBC Tees last week, the emphasis is now on giving them a ring and having an engineer assess if the problem is 4G related.
It is worth keeping an eye out on the Three 4G roll-out thread in the mobile phone section of this forum.
Why?
Because Three has been allocated 791-796 MHz, the closest 4G frequencies to the current TV band. This could, for example, cause problems if Three's 4G was deployed in an area where Freeview uses UHF channel 59 or 60 (778 / 786 MHz) and was either high powered or a household's TV aerial was pointing at or almost at the mast that was within a few hundred metres of the house.
However, Three at 800 MHz* is only just ready to roll-out (*technically 791+ MHz!). In January, The Register confirmed that Three would concentrate on delivering 4G at 800 in rural areas: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/01/30/h3uk_hutchison_whampoa_three_uk_network_plans/
The Three 4G rollout thread has the latest on Three's rollout, so you can read for yourself how it (isn't) being rolled out (yet).
So in a nutshell the network that has the frequencies closest to Freeview TV is only just preparing to launch a service at 800, and will be concentrating on serving rural areas.
The next closest allocation to Freeview is EE's - 796 to 801 MHz. Last summer, EE confirmed: http://telecoms.com/interview/director-of-ran-development-programmes-ee-uk-volte-cost-efficiency-has-yet-to-be-proven-3g-voice-calls-are-already-highly-cost-efficient/
Again, it's not going to be used everywhere, limiting the knock on effect on Freeview. With so much consolidation taking place in the market, by the time the mobile network operators need to max out their 800 MHz allocations, it'll be time for Freeview to move further downband.
Fortunately, the latest D-Book of technical standards for terrestrial TV has provisions for the future 700 MHz clearance, reducing its impact for those with Freeview devices developed under these standards.