Ofcom asks Arqiva to stick price on 600MHz spectrum
Six new HD Freeview channels up for grabs
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Arqiva, holders of a virtual monopoly on UK broadcast infrastructure, has been asked to provide indicative pricing in case anyone fancies launching some TV channels at 600MHz.
In an updated statement (pdf, short and to the point) Ofcom postpones any auction until the end of 2012, but the regulator has asked Arqiva to work out what it would charge someone to broadcast TV in the space, so potential media companies can see what it would cost.
The band isn't very valuable for anything else, as there's no international harmonisation, and thus no economies of scale. So building an LTE network or similar would be expensive. It's 56MHz wide (starting at 550MHz) so it would fit six new HD TV channels that could be received using existing Freeview boxes, if anyone wanted to broadcast them.
Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) runs in a contracted band, compared to analogue TV which is steadily being switched off, so that leaves gaps at the top and bottom. The top (800MHz) will get auctioned off next year (schedule permitting), but the bottom part remains unloved and largely unwanted.
The band could be thrown open to unlicensed use, like the slots at 433 and 868MHz which already exist for short range devices such as remote car keys, or UWB kit could be pushed into there. But again the lack of international standards would make such applications expensive.
So Ofcom wants to auction it off, on the well-established premise that he who's prepared to pay most will make greatest use of it. But the regulator can't do that until the upper part of the Digital Dividend is mapped out (if not auctioned off) and the potential value of the 600MHz band is well understood.
The latter means working out how much it would cost to broadcast a national TV multiplex, and as Arqiva is the only company which could do such a thing it's the one being asked to put together the figures, which will then be shared with potential bidders so they can decide how much the bandwidth is worth, and what they might want to do with it. ®
COMMENTS
Ofcom asks Arqiva to stick price on 600MHz spectrum
I'd buy it.
Though I'd prefer a 1GHz BBC Model B.
Don't sell off the broacast spectrum
We will need it in the future for UHD.
Mind you we need it now for SD, BBC 1, 2, News24 SD now looks rubbish compared to pre DSO.
Looks like watching a youtube video.
I remember the high SD bitrates and top class as good as DVD broadcasts during the Ondodgy years and early Freeview years.
I am sure DSO was supposed to improve the picture not make it worse.
Good picture 95% of the time with no picture 5% due to Emly Moor analogue, or a rubbish picture all of the time.
As to HD (Freesat this time) that has gone down in quality with the drop in bitrates, and where did the promise on no on screen turds on dramas and films gone then Nagler?
My holiday videos are now better than broadcast!
Re: 56MHz = six new HD TV channels?
Sadly to achieve national coverage one needs more than one 8MHz channel, as neighbouring transmitters need to be on different frequencies.
Ofcom reckons that the 7x8MHz slots is just enough for one national multiplex, that single multiplex containing six HD channels in it.
Bill.
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