Quote:
Originally Posted by OLD BOY
https://www.advanced-television.com/...tt-switch-off/
[EXTRACT]
The UK’s main TV, radio and cellular mast operator and transmission company, Arqiva, has been plunged into financial uncertainty amid uncertainty over a looming digital switchover.
https://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2026...lly-worthless/
Under current legislation, digital terrestrial TV via Freeview is guaranteed until at least 2034. However, broadcasters have argued that maintaining energy-intensive terrestrial transmission alongside streaming distribution is increasingly costly as audiences migrate online.
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The country should have standardised on a free-to-view satellite based delivery system when we did the digital switchover. Vested interests (Arqiva) and snobbery (I don’t want a Sky dish on my house) undoubtedly helped prevent it.
Public service broadcasts are already available over IP, receivable anywhere an end-user has sufficient bandwidth. But it will be some time before the national internet capacity is sufficient for 30 million homes to be streaming possibly multiple channels in HD or UHD simultaneously, even if we get close to 100% super fast broadband coverage of UK homes. As we didn’t settle on satellite as the provider of the universal service when we could have, we will undoubtedly see the government having to bung Arqiva some dough to keep their transmitters going.