The first delivery of the UK’s digital switchover (DSO) by transmission company Arqiva in the Border television region (southern Scotland/northern England) has been supported by engineering and infrastructure solutions supplied by VT Communications.
In 2007 VT Communications was awarded a contract by Arqiva to install low power digital terrestrial TV (DTT) transmitter cabins at television relay stations throughout the UK as part of the DSO programme. These relay cabins facilitate the delivery of DSO to mainly rural areas, complementing the coverage from the UKs main TV transmitting stations, so are a critical part of the overall programme.
Border has two main transmitting stations (Selkirk and Caldbeck), plus Kendal and Douglas. Three have one or more associated low power relay stations. Fifty percent of television viewers in the Selkirk area rely on the relay stations to provide the digital coverage to these rural areas. In September, VT Communications successfully completed the installation of cabins at ten of the eleven relay sites associated with the Selkirk main TV station. The Selkirk relay chain was the first within the Border region to complete DSO on 20th November 2008.
Bryan Coombes, Director of Broadcast at VT Communications, said: “VT Communications goes beyond the delivery of traditional broadcast services. From the design, build and systems integration of bespoke projects like this, to working in partnership with customers to plan for the future, we not limited by the boundaries of existing processes, technologies or knowledge. Our team surveyed almost 250 sites and installed 25 cabins at sites in both the Border region and now West Country. However, this is only the beginning; we still have many more installations and four years to go!”