On November 8, 2017 the switchover of Germany’s DTT network from DVB-T to successor DVB-T2 will enter the second stage.
The new DTT generation will launch in Dresden, Kassel, Koblenz and Freiburg. The viewers in these urban areas will then be able to receive around 40 TV channels in HD quality including, for the first time, 22 commercial channels. The transmissions in the previous DVB-T standard will be terminated at the same time.
Also on November 8, 2017, the transmitter sites in Cuxhaven, Göttingen, Heringsdorf, Hoher Meissner, Löbau, Pfaffenberg, Rhön, Stralsund, Wolfsburg and Würzburg as well as further locations will be converted to DVB-T2. Only public TV channels are offered in these regions.
The first part of the DVB-T2 deployment took place on March 29, 2017 when 327 transmitters at 69 locations were converted to the new standard. The switchover will continue in further regions in 2018 and 2019.
For reception, viewers need a TV set, set-to-box or USB stick compliant with the DVB-T2/HEVC standard. The public TV channels are available free-of-charge and unencrypted while the commercial channels form part of subscription platform Freenet TV offered to consumers for €5.75 per month.
[UPDATE] August 30, 2017, 12.00 CET Media Broadcast, operator of Freenet TV, announced that the platform has won more than 700,000 paying customers so far. By the end of 2017, more than 800,000 customers are expected with the 1 million mark to be exceeded by the end of 2018.
