Broadcast firm Arqiva has subcontracted work on the
switch to digital TV to Cable & Wireless.
Arqiva – formerly known as NTL Broadcast – is the BBC’s
preferred supplier for distribution and transmission, and the deal
will see Cable & Wireless providing distribution feeds to
Arqiva transmitter sites for the BBC’s two digital TV
multiplexes.
The agreement will cover a 25-year term, starting in 2008 when
the new high-power network begins to roll out across the country a
region at a time.
Cable & Wireless is not new to the BBC, having provided the
corporation with telecommunications infrastructure for 13
years.
The digital switchover will see the complete replacement of the
analogue terrestrial transmissions network that has been in place
since the 1930s. The switchover is expected to take four to five
years, with just under 70% of UK households already receiving
digital TV, according to broadcast industry body Digital UK.
