Depending on the weather, Arqiva will be carrying out a full test of the new, temporary mast at Bilsdale tomorrow, Tuesday 12 October.
During this test, most people across the area will lose their TV signal for a period. Arqiva understands that this is frustrating, and apologises for the disruption, however this will be an important step in restoring TV services. Viewers will not need to retune their TV yet, as the signal will come and go while Arqiva completes the testing.
Providing the final tests tomorrow are successful, the new Bilsdale mast will be operational from 6am onwards on Wednesday 13 October. From that time, viewers will need to retune their TV to restore services. The instructions on how to do that can be found here.
This process is all part of essential work to restore and improve Freeview services for households following the Bilsdale mast fire and, once complete, more than 90% of households will have a restored or improved service. The new, temporary mast at Bilsdale means:
- The full set of Freeview channels will be available
- There will be a stronger signal which is less prone to weather disruption
- Another 50,000 households will be able to receive a signal
In a small number of areas, some people still will not receive a signal after the temporary mast is switched on. Unfortunately, Arqiva will only know which households are still affected once the mast is up and running.
In the coming days, for people still without service, Arqiva will be setting out more support, help and updates on the Bilsdale Mast: Project Restore website at https://www.bilsdalemast.co.uk/
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