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London could get Freeview HD by next year

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ofcom office of communication 1
ofcom office of communication 1

ofcom-office-of-communication.gifThose of us
based in London were a bit miffed about not getting HD telly through
the aerial courtesy of Freeview until 2012, it seems that good old
Auntie Beeb has also been similarly peeved. The organisation has asked
TV watchdog Ofcom to launch a consultation into whether high definition
DTT can be bought to the city much faster than the current 2012.

As reported by Absolute Gadget, Ofcom has given the go ahead for the next generation television to roll out across the UK regions,
starting with Granada in 2009. The roll-out would required new set-top
boxes, using DVB-T2 and MPEG-4 (H.264) technologies, in order to work.

But now Ofcom said it would look into whether an interim solution could be found to squeeze in HD channels onto unused space.

"the
BBC requested that we consider temporarily assigning frequencies to
enable a launch of the new Multiplex B services in some key areas ahead
of DSO," said Ofcom in a statement.
"This could materially increase the proportion of the UK’s population
that has access to the new services between 2009 and completion of DSO
in 2012."

The request from the BBC covers frequencies set aside
for "programme making and special events", which would mean that
viewers in London and other metropolitan areas could be able to watch
the 2010 World Cup in South Africa in glorious high definition.