On the night of Tuesday May 22 to Wednesday May 23, TDF technicians will be working on the 12 sites of its main network, as part of the digital terrestrial television (DTT) frequency reorganization plan. Around fifty technicians will be mobilized for the duration of the operation.
From Wednesday onwards, to continue receiving all DTT channels, homes in this area will have to perform an automatic channel scan.
The area covers more than 3.1 million inhabitants in the south of the Grand-Est region (Haut-Rhin, Vosges, Haute-Marne) and the south of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (Doubs, Côte d'Or, Saône-et-Loire). The main towns are Mulhouse (68), Vittel, Epinal (88), Besançon, Morteau (25), Chaumont (52), Dijon (21), Autun, Le Creusot (71).
An operation of precision and expertise
The characteristics of this vast, mountainous and border region make this operation a delicate one. Interventions require expert know-how and precision. TDF's regional technicians are mobilized in advance and on D-day to restore digital terrestrial television broadcasting as quickly as possible, to ensure continuity of service.
A supervision unit has been set up to closely monitor the entire system at the 139 TDF sites concerned:
- Interventions will take place at night, between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m., on the 12 sites of TDF's main network, to enable as many viewers as possible to get their DTT channels back the next day;
- They will continue for three days at the other 127 sites in the complementary network.
The operations will mainly involve changes to the multiplexing cell and modifications to the transmission configuration. On this occasion, TDF will modify 326 frequencies.
New frequencies for mobile operators
The rearrangement of DTT frequencies, which began in October 2017, is entering its sixth phase. DTT's 3,400 frequencies are gradually being rearranged to enable the transfer of the 700 MHz band to make new frequencies available to operators and thus provide better mobile coverage. Thirteen phases of reorganization will take place between now and June 2019. This nationwide frequency reorganization operation concerns all French households.
New Aquitaine, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur, part of Occitanie, western Pays de la Loire, Grand Est and the Northern Alps have already undergone DTT upgrades, as did the Île-de-France region in April 2016, at the time of the switchover to High Definition DTT. In each phase, the work was carried out successfully. This transfer of frequencies has enabled mobile operators to roll out their 4G networks in the 700 MHz band.
DTT: number one in television broadcasting
Digital terrestrial television remains the leading mode of television reception in France, with 68% of households using it. The DTT platform covers 97% of the population.