Millions will have to pay to get Freeview TV

[Michael Browne]

New 4G mobile phone network will leave people facing £200 bills to cut out interference

 

More than 2 million Freeview customers face bills of up to £212 – more than the cost of a year’s subscription to cable television – in order to pay for interference with signals caused by the 4G mobile network.

 

Freeview and the BBC last night told The Independent of their anger at the Government’s apparent determination to dump the costs of installing signal filter equipment on householders rather than the mobile phone companies which will enjoy huge financial benefit from the introduction of 4G next year.

 

Estimates suggest that between 2.3m and 3m households – within 2km of 4G transmitters - face interference with their television pictures, with some losing their signals entirely.

 

“If you don’t have a filter you literally won’t be able to watch television. You will get very significant pixelation and the picture will break up and you won’t be able to carry on watching Freeview. They are stopping people watching Coronation Street,” said Ilse Howling, managing director of Freeview. “It will cause interference for a large number of Freeview homes and we are really concerned about that. We think the Government has got this wrong and this is really unfair.”

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/millions-will-have-to-pay-to-get-freeview-tv-7899834.html