Taking that big step into the all-digital future is daunting for the largest of operators.  It's not just the end result, it's getting there.  The migration from existing analogue networks is as much about the configuration and deployment of terminal equipment as it is about the network infrastructure.

Ensuring stable transition

Arqiva has been entrusted with this task by the Metropolitan Police and most other UK police forces, expressly because of the company's track record with both legacy systems and new digital technology.  This this track record, coupled with Arqiva's in-depth understanding of how public safety organisations operate, has made the company the partner of choice for digital migration.

Transition management for the Metropolitan Police involves support for 30,000 officers, from two analogue radio comunications networks to a single digital network. Arqiva is providing digital migration to a further 20,000+ officers in police authorities across the UK.

Delivering reliable networks

Arqiva is a natural network builder, whether for mobile communications or broadcasting.  The company is steeped in a history of network roll-out, from the first ITV transmitter in 1955, to the Channel 4 network in the early 1980s, hundreds of sites for mobile phone operators, Channel 5 and the first digital TV and radio networks in the 1990s.

Most recently both ITV and the BBC have chosen Arqiva as their preferred supplier of the new digital high-power digital TV networks that will replace analogue TV after 2012. Some of these contracts run for up to 25 years.  All five UK mobile operators use hundreds of Arqiva sites, installation services and fibre-based shared solutions.