Freeview HD slots advertised by Ofcom

Ofcom has issued a formal advertisement for applications to broadcast high definition services on a reconfigured digital terrestrial multiplex in one of the first statutory steps towards the carriage of HD channels on Freeview.

Multiplex B will be reconfigured to use the recently-ratified DVB-T2 transmission standard and MPEG4 compression - both capacity-enhancing versions of the current DVB-T and MPEG2 standards used on existing digital terrestrial multiplexes - under plans announced earlier this year by Ofcom. Existing multiplex B services, including BBC Four, the Community Channel and the BBC's national radio networks, will be redistributed to multiplex 1.

Ofcom has confirmed today that once cleared and reconfigured, there will be room for up to three high definition services on multiplex B given a total capacity of "at least 30 Mbps". One of those will be reserved for BBC HD, and the regulator has invited the commercial public service broadcasters to tender for the remaining capacity.

Each application must be for capacity sufficient for the broadcasting of a single high definition service; however, it would not need to be used solely for 24 hour broadcasts of an HD television channel. The applications will be judged on how efficiently they use the radio spectrum, how they contribute "to the fulfilment of the purposes and characteristics of public service television", and also how they contribute "to enhancing or maintaining the range and diversity of high quality television services available on digital terrestrial television".

Ofcom has insisted that the "long term aim of applicants" who wish to run HD services must be to do so for the broadcasting of native HD content rather than upscaled standard definition programming. The regulator is also being particularly clear to divide applications up by daypart; for example, an applicant must specify what its capacity would be used for during primetime, daytime and overnight.

The regulator cited three example applications: one for a 24 hour high definition simulcast of an existing public service broadcaster's main channel; one for an original 24 hour high definition channel; and one where overnight capacity was used to provide downloads to PVRs and multiple standard definition services, daytime capacity was used for original HD output, and primetime was used for an HD simulcast.

Technical standards for the reconfigured multiplex are expected to be agreed before the end of the year with the capacity becoming available in tandem with digital switchover, beginning with Granada in November 2009.