• Arqiva to provide DTH space segment on the Eurobird satellite
• Launch of free-to-air satellite platform to increase availability of digital television channels across the UK
• Working with Freesat and channel owners to secure space on the platform

Arqiva has been awarded a contract by the BBC to help bring Freesat, the free-to-air digital TV platform, to air by March 2008. Arqiva will support the creation of the new service, which will complement existing digital TV platforms, ensuring that viewers across the whole of the UK can gain access to digital television without the need for a subscription, at and prior to Digital Switch Over.

Arqiva will provide the BBC with an end-to-end distribution solution for the platform management data, which will have fully-redundant back up across dual teleports to ensure maximum robustness of the broadcast signal. In order to provide this resilient network, Arqiva will implement multiple circuits between two key teleports - the primary one in Bedford (Bedfordshire) and secondary one at Crawley Court (Hampshire) - and the BBC broadcast centres in London.

Arqiva has been working with the BBC for more than 18 months to develop initial project plans and design a solution to meet the broadcasters' needs - both technically and commercially. After the BBC Trust gave Freesat the green light to launch, work went into full flow and testing of the platform began in August 2007.

Many channel owners are now in close contact with Arqiva and Freesat in order to secure space on the new DTT platform.

"We work closely with Arqiva to uplink services for our BBC DSat 3 and DSat 7 DTH platforms, which host the majority of our interactive services, so we know of the company's capabilities when it comes to supporting our satellite network requirements," said Alan Boyle, Head of Distribution Operations, BBC.

"The team knows our infrastructure and the people involved, so this made it a lot easier to develop the right end-to-end solution for the Freesat platform."

"This will be a major digital platform in the UK and we have worked very closely with the BBC to get it right," said John Bozza, Director of Broadcast Sales, Arqiva Satellite Media Solutions. "When we reach the time for Digital Switchover in the UK it's vital that every household is able to receive free digital TV, which is why this project is a key part of the nation's digital TV offering and supplements the new high-power digital terrestrial network that will deliver Freeview services to 98.5% of UK viewers via a normal aerial." 

"We are looking forward to working with Freesat and helping the channels on our existing satellite multiplexes to access the Freesat platform," added Bozza.

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