BBC, C4 lobbying for terrestrial spectrum

The BBC is leading a consortium asking the government for more terrestrial spectrum after analogue switchoff.

The new bandwidth would be used to launch HD versions of the terrestrial channels via Freeview. The BBC estimates that around fourteen frequencies would be freed up post-shutdown, of which twelve would be required to broadcast all five channels in HD. The remaining two frequencies could be used to accomodate the broadcast of as many as 32 channels to mobile phones.

Channel 4 is likely to join the BBC in lobbying for the extra space while ITV and Five are in discussions about being part of the consortium.

TV regulator Ofcom is currently in the middle of a year-long review assessing the options for the spectrum and will announce its intentions later this year.