UK frequency plans

The agreement that was made in Geneva in 2006 forms the backbone of the UK’s digital switchover plan. Ofcom has produced coverage figures that are based on the latest version of the UK’s frequency plan. To see this table and for further information please go to: www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/ifi/tech/dttcoverage.

To see all the current frequency plans as published by Ofcom, please click on the link below:
www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/ifi/tech/dsodetails.

National figures as produced by Ofcom

Ofcom have published more detailed information on national coverage which you can download here.

For the full 'Digital Switchover Factsheet' as produced by Ofcom, with the final column referring to the percentage of households that can currently receive the full Freeview line up of services (six multiplexes),’ please go to http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consumeradvice/tv/digital/rangeofchannels/digitvfactsheet0908.pdf

Ofcom have published factsheets with further details on coverage, please go to http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/tv/reports/dsoind/factsheets/

Channel allocation

Once the frequency plan for each region has been finalised, it is necessary to decide which multiplex transmits on which frequency. Digital UK co-ordinates the channel allocation process on behalf of the broadcasters.

The finalised channel allocation papers, which include the frequency plans, are then published by Ofcom and are also available on this site. For the full list of Ofcom publications, please see the Almanac page.

Self help relays

All communities operating self-help relays will be affected by digital switchover. The analogue signals that are boosted by their transmitters will be switched off and in some cases, the self-help relay will no longer be required, as digital signals will be better than the analogue signals that they replace.

Ofcom have stated that all communities that wish to retain their self-help transmitter will need to take action to ensure that their systems continue to operate satisfactorily and are properly licensed after switchover. Existing licences are valid only for analogue transmissions and all communities that wish to continue operating a self-help relay after switchover must re-license them as a digital self-help relay.

To see further information as supplied by Ofcom on Self-Helps please click the link below:
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/ifi/tech/selfhelp/

Single frequency networks:

This is when two (or more) transmitters with overlapping coverage use the same channels. In analogue, this would make both channels unusable due to the mutual interference. The DVB-T 8K transmission mode allows the signals to add, rather than interfere with each other, if the transmitters are close together thus improving reception.