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Self-help Relays and Digital Switchover - FAQs

What is digital switchover?

Starting in 2008 and ending in 2012, TV services in the UK will go completely digital, TV region by TV region. This process is called digital switchover. The UK’s old television broadcast signal (known as “analogue”) is being switched off and replaced with a “digital” signal. In July this year Government announced that switchover will begin in Whitehaven in Cumbria towards the end of 2007.

What are the benefits of digital TV?

Compared to traditional TV, it brings many new ways to enhance your TV:

Extra TV channels as standard
Subscription and specialist channels
Improved picture and sound quality
New interactive features
Audio description for blind and partially sighted people alongside the existing access services (subtitling and signing) for deaf and hard of hearing people

Why do we have to change the way we get TV?

Because it's only by switching off the old analogue signal that digital TV through your aerial (Freeview/Top Up TV) can be rolled out to the places that can’t currently receive it, to give everyone the widest possible choice on how they receive digital TV.

What is a self help transmitter scheme?

Community Television Relay ‘self help’ transmitter schemes were first introduced in 1980, as a means of reaching small groups of viewers too few in numbers to be considered for the provision of a broadcaster-maintained analogue relay transmitter.

Unlike the 1154 broadcaster-maintained transmitters that reach 98.5 % of the population, funding for each self help transmitter was to be organised by the local community.

Self help transmitters are licensed by Ofcom.

How is a self help transmitter funded?

Costs include the initial construction as well as on-going maintenance and repairs.

Normally, these are borne by the local community.

In some cases, arrangements may have been made by another organisation (for example, a construction company) as part of an agreement to restore TV reception that became impaired as a result of new buildings or other structures.

Some self help transmitter operators, but not all, collect payments from time to time to cover running costs. Even if there are no regular charges, payments may occasionally be requested to cover repairs to equipment arising from storm damage. Such payments would be agreed by the operator in consultation with the self help transmitter viewers.

Where are self help transmitters located?

Many transmitters are in isolated rural parts of the country, although some are in urban areas. Over half are in Scotland.

Some self help schemes have two or more transmitters. There are in the region of 243 self help schemes and 290 transmitters.

How many people receive TV from self help transmitters?

About 12,500 households watch TV from self help transmitters.

This represents about 0.05% of the UK population.

Most individual transmitters cover relatively small numbers of households. Generally, these are within a kilometre or two of the low power transmitter. Coverage also includes some caravan sites and holiday accommodation.

What does digital switchover mean for self help transmitter schemes?

As each analogue broadcaster transmitter in a TV region is converted to digital, all analogue services from self help transmitters will stop working.

If you currently receive any of the traditional four or five UK channels (BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4 and Five) on any of your TV sets from a self help transmitter, you’ll need to think about your options for getting digital TV.

How do I know whether I am receiving my analogue television from a self help transmitter?

In most cases the community nature of self help transmitters means that viewers will be aware how they receive television. You are more likely to be receiving from a self help transmitter if:

You live close to one of the self help locations listed in the [refer to consultation document]
You pay regular or occasional fees to help maintain the transmitter

Sometimes, viewers who have turned to satellite for the main TV continue to receive signals from a self help transmitter on second or third TVs.

If you are still not sure, or perhaps you have just moved into the area, ask your neighbours or check with your local Parish Council. Alternatively, ask your television dealer.

The licensee for each self help scheme will be contacted by Ofcom. The licensee, who is usually also the scheme organiser, will be advised to make viewers in their local community aware that the analogue transmissions from self help transmitters will cease.

What are the options for receiving digital TV for people currently using self help transmitters?

There are several choices for receiving digital, though not all are available to every household:

Through a satellite dish, either a subscription service or a “freesat” service, available for a fixed installation fee and no subscription. These would be available for most existing self help viewers
Through cable TV. Cable services currently serve around 50% of the UK population.
Through a TV aerial –
- It is likely that many existing self-help transmitters could be converted to digital – more details are given in the following paragraphs. Each household would also need to convert all TV sets by using a set top box, or replace with an integrated digital TV set.
- Some existing self help users might be able to receive digital TV from a broadcaster-maintained transmitter. This is most likely to be the case where the analogue self help transmitter was originally required because of “ghost” images (seen as a second image to the left or right of the main picture) Household aerial improvements may be needed in addition to conversion of all sets to digital.
Through a broadband television service, currently available some areas

It will be up to individuals, and the local community as a whole, to decide what course of action is most appropriate. And more advice will become available as the time of switchover approaches.

Why might I need to upgrade to a digital replacement self help scheme?

Ofcom is consulting on the possibility of introducing a scheme to license digital self helps. Conversion of the self help transmitter to digital might not be the right solution for all self help transmitter viewers, and for some communities it might not be needed at all.

Individual circumstances will vary. These are some of the factors to consider:

Would you be able to receive signals from a broadcaster maintained transmitter after switchover? (advice on this will be available nearer the time of switchover)
Could a satellite TV signal be received by a dish installed at a suitable location? In a small number of cases, viewers may have difficulty in siting a satellite dish, because of the effects of trees or steep-sided valleys. A local satellite installer would be able to advise
If there are several TVs in the property, what is the most convenient way of getting signals to each set?
How do the costs compare?

Could the existing analogue self help transmitter be used for digital?

There are two kinds of self help transmitters, active deflectors and transposers. An active deflector re-transmits the analogue broadcasts on the same frequencies as the original broadcasts, while a transposer transmits the received broadcasts on different frequencies.

In some cases, it might be possible to use an existing ‘active deflector’ self help transmitter for digital, but technical adjustments are likely to be needed.

In many cases, particularly where a transposer is used, the existing analogue equipment would be unlikely to be suitable.

In all cases, if you think you wish to convert a self help transmitter to digital, it would be important to seek expert technical advice. Any new digital replacement self help scheme will also need to be licensed by Ofcom.

How do I tell if my self-help relay is an active-deflector or a transposer?

The list of self help transmitters shows whether each transmitter was planned as an active-deflector or a transposer. So this is a good first check and is likely to be accurate in most cases. The scheme organiser or the person who maintains the system will be able to confirm this.

What sort of digital self help transmitter would Ofcom license?

Subject to the outcome of the current consultation:

Ofcom would consider licence applications for conversion of existing licensed analogue self help transmitters to digital.

Where possible, the digital transmitter would need to be an active deflector.

In some cases it may not be practical to convert an analogue transposer to a digital active deflector, and in that case Ofcom would consider licensing as a digital transposer.

How many programme channels would I be able to receive?

Analogue self help transmitters provide only the main four or five broadcast television channels.

A self help transmitter converted to digital will be able to offer all these together with a range of additional channels – including some commercial channels, all of the BBC TV services and some radio channels.

How much would a digital self help scheme cost?

Ofcom will offer to help existing self help licensees with the planning of the technical characteristics (including the transmitter power and transmitter aerial configuration) for conversion of a self help transmitter to digital. Ofcom will not charge for this.

However, operators of existing analogue self help transmitters will be responsible for making their own enquiries about the costs of obtaining and installing new digital transmission equipment.

If it is found technically possible to use existing simple active deflector equipment, the cost of carrying out the necessary adjustments could be relatively low, and might typically be a few hundred pounds

In the case of an existing self help transmitter that uses analogue transposers, it might be necessary to replace these with new digital active deflectors. But instead of the four or five transposers for the analogue services, only three active deflectors would be needed for digital. The costs might typically be a few thousand pounds.

In some situations, it might not be possible to convert an analogue transposer scheme to one that uses digital active-deflectors because of the need to avoid causing interference to other viewers elsewhere. Ofcom is likely to be able to advise on this nearer the time. It may be possible instead to convert to a digital transposer

In some cases, it should be possible to retain and reuse existing receiving and transmitting aerials at the self help transmitter site. This will depend on the specification and condition of the aerials.

For some digital self help replacement schemes, it might also be necessary to adjust or replace individual viewers’ receiving aerials.

I have heard that not all transmitters will carry the full range of services – How does this affect self helps wishing to convert?

Digital TV is broadcast in multiplexes. Each multiplex replaces one analogue channel, and can carry typically between 4 and 6 TV services. There are six multiplexes for digital terrestrial TV in the UK. After switchover there will be a clear distinction between the two groups of three multiplexes:

The three main multiplexes will carry all of the public service broadcasts including BBC 1 and 2, ITV, Channel 4, S4C in Wales, and FIVE, as well as some other commercial channels and the additional BBC services. These will be broadcast from all 1154 of the current broadcaster maintained transmitters and will cover nearly all of the country.

The other three multiplexes carry various commercial TV and radio services and will be broadcast from a smaller number of transmitters.

Some self help transmitters, if converted to digital, could be able to relay all six multiplexes while others may be restricted to the three public service multiplexes. This will depend on:

Whether the broadcaster-maintained transmitter supplying the TV signals to the self help carries all six multiplexes, or just the three public service ones
Whether the transmitter planning exercise mentioned above shows that it is possible to relay all six multiplexes (eg without causing interference to other services)
Whether the transmitter is converted as an active deflector or a transposer. Transposers are likely to be limited to three multiplexes because of available frequencies.
The cost of replacement digital transmitter equipment may be higher for relaying all six multiplexes

Who can I turn to for further advice?

Self help scheme viewers who would like to consider the possibility of a digital replacement self help scheme should in the first instance contact the local community self help scheme organiser.

Specialist advice can be obtained from:

Local dealer or aerial installer (CAI / ‘digital’ approved) for individual technical advice
Digital UK – for general advice on issues related to switchover - www.digitaluk.co.uk or telephone 0845 6 50 50 50.
Ofcom – for advice on frequency planning and licensing of digital replacement self help transmitters www.ofcom.org.uk or telephone 020 7981 3000