Ofcom says there would be benefits to consumers if spectrum in the 700MHz band currently held by DTT services were to be switched to mobile services sooner than previously envisaged.
This would involve changing the frequencies used by some temporary DTT services, known as interim multiplexes, which operate in the 600MHz band (550-606MHz) and reduce the number of HD services.
Plans released by the regulator in November 2014 had pointed to the end of 2021 as a possible release date for the Freeview spectrum, also used by wireless microphones.
Ofcom says it would be possible to bring forward the release date to Q2 2020.
Existing DTT multiplexes would “broadly match” existing DTT coverage, according to the regulator. This could be achieved by upgrading some or all of the existing DTT services to the DVB-T2/MPEG-4 format from the present DVB-T/MPEG-2.
Ofcom says the discontinuation of the so-called interim multiplexes would not jeopardise the future of the DTT platform.
However, transmission provider Arqiva has suggested that the life of the channels could be extended by using a mix of DVB and hybrid IPTV – Arqiva has an interest in the technology – suggesting that there will not be a sizeable base of DVB-T2 capable sets in the market until 2023, an argument rejected by Ofcom.
