London to get Freeview HD from December 2nd

Freeview HD will go live in London on December 2, at the same time as the Granada region gets the high definition TV service. The Winter Hill
and Crystal Palace transmitters will add HD channels simultaneously, with four other cities getting access by mid-2010. The BBC has completed a deal with transmitter operator Arqiva to build five new transmitters in London, Glasgow, Newcastle, Birmingham, and Leeds/Bradford by the end of Spring 2010.

Alix Pryde, controller of BBC Distribution, said: “The BBC’s agreements with Arqiva to build the high definition infrastructure for DTT represent an important step forward that sets us on course for a successful launch in December this year.
“We look forward to confirming later this autumn our plans with Freeview for the consumer launch of HD services.”
The new DVB-T2 technology will deliver an increase in capacity of 67 percent to the BBC’s Multiplex B, efficiently creating the space needed for UK public service broadcasters’ HD transmissions.
The BBC and Arqiva will be the first organisations in the world to deploy the DVB-T2 technology into full operational service across an entire transmission network.
Multiplex B was cleared of standard-definition Freeview channels in the Big Retune on September 30, to allow the launch of high definition TV.

Freeview HD will offer with BBC HD, ITV HD and Channel 4 HD at launch, with Five HD expected to arrive by 2012.
Matthew Postgate, controller of research and development at the BBC said: “The BBC has a long and distinguished history in developing technologies for the benefit of the wider media industry and consumer, and the work of our R&D team is as important in the digital age as it ever has been.

“The pioneering work of the team in creating the standard, in partnership with DVB, has been instrumental in bringing HD to terrestrial TV and will allow Freeview to build on its phenomenal success.”
Steve Holebrook, managing director of terrestrial broadcast for Arqiva, the transmission company who will build the network, said: “This is a fantastic development for Freeview and we’re delighted to be working with the BBC to bring this new technology to market as quickly as possible. “Once again we in the UK are leading the world in television technology and this should stimulate the DVB-T2 market throughout Europe.”