Terrestrial TV systems and frequency planning

In July 1994 the UK Government announced a plan as many as 12 digital terrestrial television services. Digital transmission offers the possibility of new programme services, a route to widescreen and improved quality, multichannel sound, and the potential for enhancements such as interactivity. Digital television can be delivered into viewers' homes by a variety of bearers including satellite, terrestrial, cable, and terrestrial broadcasting. It is likely that in the digital era there will be a mixed economy of these delivery systems together with, perhaps, new delivery techniques such as ADSL and ATM networks. However, digital terrestrial broadcasting has a number of unique properties which, for some viewers and applications, make it the most suitable replacement technology for today's analogue broadcasting. These include service to portable or mobile sets (and other receivers which are not connected to roof-top aerials), ability to deliver regional and local programming, and the potential for universal coverage. Preliminary planning studies for digital terrestrial television networks in the UK indicate that both single frequency networks (SFNs) and multi-frequency networks (MFNs) will have a role to play in providing good coverage for an attractive package of national, regional, and local programme services.