On the night of Monday November 5 to Tuesday November 6, 2018, TDF technicians will be working on the 10 sites of the main network on the occasion of the digital terrestrial television (DTT) frequency rearrangement. The rearrangements will continue until the end of the week on the 197 sites of the complementary network. Throughout the operation, some sixty technicians will be mobilized.
As a reminder, the DTT platform remains the leading mode of TV reception in France, with coverage of 97% of the population and 68% of households using it (IFOP survey - May 2018).
The area concerned by this new phase of redevelopment covers almost 2,280,000 inhabitants in the western part of Occitanie (departments of Lozère, Hérault, Aude, Ariège and Pyrénées-Orientales, as well as parts of Tarn, Aveyron and Gard). Part of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region around the Cantal and Haute-Loire departments is also affected.
The main towns are Montpellier (34), Carcassonne (11), Millau (12), Mende (48), Le Puy-en-Velay (43), Saint-Flour (15), Perpignan (66) and Tarascon-sur-Ariège (09).
Homes in this area will need to perform an automatic channel scan to continue receiving all DTT channels.
An operation of precision and expertise
The characteristics of this geographical area (vast, mountainous and bordering on Spain), the sheer volume of sites to be redeveloped and possible weather constraints make this a delicate operation. The interventions require expert know-how and precision. TDF technicians are mobilized in advance and on D-day to restore digital terrestrial television broadcasting as quickly as possible to ensure continuity of service.
Two supervision units have been set up to closely monitor the entire system at the 207 TDF sites concerned.
Operations will take place in two stages:
- At the 10 sites on TDF's main network, operations will take place between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Monday night, to enable as many viewers as possible to get their DTT channels back on Tuesday morning;
- At the 197 other sites on the complementary network, the work will continue until the end of the week.
The work will mainly involve changing the multiplexing cell and modifying the transmission configuration. On this occasion, TDF will modify 400 frequencies.
New frequencies for mobile operators
The rearrangement of DTT frequencies, which began in October 2017, is entering its eighth phase. The 3,400 DTT frequencies are gradually being rearranged to enable the 700 MHz band to be transferred, making new frequencies available to operators and thus providing better mobile coverage across France. Fifteen 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, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region have already undergone DTT upgrades, as did the Île-de-France region in April 2016, when it switched over to HD DTT. In each phase, the interventions were successful. This transfer of frequencies has enabled mobile operators to roll out their 4G networks in the 700 MHz band.