Analogue Terrestrial Television Switch Off in the United Kingdom – Will You be Affected?

Terrestrial Television is television broadcast from a mountaintop using radio waves. It is received through an aerial and displayed on a TV set. The technology used to provide terrestrial television is changing from analogue to digital and, throughout the world, countries are updating their national television networks from analogue terrestrial television to digital terrestrial television.

Digital technology is used to convert the television pictures and sound to data so that much more information can be carried over the television network.  This means that a digital terrestrial television network can provide more programme channels and other content than the corresponding analogue network.

South East and East

As part of the United Kingdom’s plan to roll out digital terrestrial television in their jurisdiction, analogue transmitters in Wales began switching off in August 2009, concluding in March 2010. 


This switch off will affect residents along the south east and east  coast of Ireland who have been receiving UK terrestrial television stations through an aerial via over-spill from the transmitters in Wales. 


What Will Happen?

As the analogue transmitters are switched off, Irish households receiving terrestrial TV services from the UK (BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5) will lose reception of these UK channels.  This is happening because the analogue transmitters in Wales are being replaced by digital transmitters.

This will not affect the reception of RTE1, RTE2, TV3 and TG4 by any Irish household in any manner and there is no requirement to make any change to continue to receive these Irish channels.

The Welsh transmitters are being switched off in phases.  Phase 1 involves the switch off of 1 transmitter.  At phase 2 the remaining transmitters are switched off.    The timetable for switching off the analogue transmitters throughout Wales is detailed below:-

Information on the UK switchover process is available at http://www.digitaluk.co.uk/ and http://www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk/

Information on the development of DTT in Ireland is available from RTÉ on the following sites http://www.rte.ie/ and http://www.rtenl.ie/