Arqiva

The latest in a series of new TV relay sites has been switched on to improve TV services for more households, Arqiva, the company which operates Bilsdale Mast, announced today.

Viewers in and around Northallerton will need to retune their TVs if they have not already done so. The switch-on returned more services to some residents and strengthened the signal in the area.

Arqiva has built 14 relay sites across County Durham, Tees Valley and North Yorkshire in recent months. These smaller masts are designed to improve local TV transmission and improve signals. Additional sites will follow.

More than 98% of households across the region have now had some TV services restored since the fire at Bilsdale Mast last August.

A new relay site at Blackhall Colliery is also expected to go live over the next few weeks. Arqiva has been contacting households in the East Durham area who were adversely affected by the switch on of an 80-metre interim mast at Bilsdale last month, which improved services to more than 100,000 homes across the region.

Work on the new, permanent structure, which will be more than 300 metres tall and one of the UK’s tallest structures, will begin soon after planning permission was granted.

Arqiva is working closely with local authorities, charities and housing associations to reach those people whose services have not been restored and who need help or advice. Information, updates and advice, for example on how to retune your TV, are available at bilsdalemast.co.uk . A dedicated freephone line is available on 0800 121 4828.

Adrian Twyning, Director of Operations at Arqiva, said:

“We continue to work hard to restore TV services and to help those households which have been affected. These smaller relay sites, like Northallerton, are a key part of Project Restore. We’re sorry for the disruption this has caused for people, but we are making progress in what is a significant task.”

ENDS

About Arqiva:

Arqiva is at the heart of the broadcast and utilities sectors in the UK and abroad, providing critical data, network and communications services.

We work in partnership with our customers – major broadcasters and utilities like the BBC, ITV, Sky, Global, Bauer, Thames Water and Anglian Water – to meet everyone’s demand for information, content and entertainment and enabling a switched-on world to flow.

We are the only supplier of national terrestrial television and radio broadcasting services in the UK, consistently delivering digital TV, analogue and digital radio to people in all four corners of the country. We distribute over 1,000 channels internationally using our fibre and satellite infrastructure. Our advanced, secure and dedicated networks are also supporting the management of critical data for a range of smart metering networksin the energy and water sectors. 

For more information, news and insights from Arqiva, please visit the website at: www.arqiva.com