The next test to see how 4G signals will affect Freeview will take place in Brentford and Isleworth on April 29.
At800, the body responsible for overseeing the 4G Freeview tests, will be sending out 4G signal filters to 28,000 homes in west London for the next round of testing.
This is the latest test taking place in built up areas that’s been announced. Previously, At800 has conducted a live experiment in rural West Midlands and launched a second trial in urban South London.
Read Recombu Digital’s report on the 4G Freeview Fail
It’s expected that 4G mobile phone signals on the 800MHz band will interfere with the quality of Freeview broadcasts. The tests in Cradley Heath and Rowley Regis have suggested that the problem isn’t as bad as we once feared – just 15 out of 22,000 homes were affected by 4G, and in all of those situations.
The London trials may well show a different picture – it’s estimated that the 4G Freeview Fail will affect Londoners the worst so it makes sense for multiple trials to take place in the capital. This week, the first London trial launched in Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark and Tower Hamlets, with residents getting leaflets (pictured above) through the post.
At800’s 4G signal filters can be fitted to the aerial cable before it splits off to separate rooms, if you’ve got more than one Freeview TV, or at the RF input in each room. One signal filter will be provided per household for those affected. Additional filters, if they’re needed cost should cost around £5.
Contrary to hysterical reports in certain sections of the media, tens of thousands of pounds aren’t going to be splashed out to every home that can’t get Freeview because of 4G. Only those in extreme situations will qualify for funding up to £10,000 for a digital TV solution.
Hopefully the work done by At800 will prove that the 4G Freeview Fail is more of a molehill than a mountain.
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