French DTT to exit 700 MHz band
September 18, 2017
From Pascale Paoli-Lebailly in Paris
The French TV market is preparing for the withdrawal of DTT channels on the 700 MHz band from October 3rd.
Following the HD DTT switchover in April 2016, the 700 MHz spectrum is to be made available for high speed mobile internet services. The vacating of the frequencies will take place over 13 phases from October, starting in Marseille and Toulouse, to June 2019.
It will also impact the 54 per cent of TV households whose TV reception is through an aerial. To maintain TV reception, these viewers will have to retune their sets, or possibly replace their TV aerial. In the Paris area, where most of the households have IPTV or dish access, the switchover was already implemented in 2016 during the HD DTT switchover.
Handled by the public frequency agency ANFR, the exit will be backed by a multi-platform information ad campaign. This is set to be the country’s last DTT frequency update until 2030.