Ofcom hails dawn of all-digital TV era

Ofcom has welcomed the completion of the UK's digital TV switchover, which paves the way for the rollout of 4G super-fast mobile broadband services across the country.

The process, which brought to an end more than seven decades of analogue broadcasting, has freed up the capacity needed by operators to deploy 4G networks.

At the end of this year, Ofcom will begin auctioning off the airwaves previously occupied by analogue TV channels.

Although Everything Everywhere is set to introduce the country's first 4G mobile service this month, its rival carriers need to wait until the auction takes place to acquire the necessary spectrum to support the technology.

Northern Ireland yesterday (October 24th 2012) became the final region to complete the digital switchover, bringing to an end a process that began in April 2004 when Ofcom published a document detailing plans for turning off analogue TV signals.

Ed Richards, chief executive of Ofcom, said: "The UK's switchover to digital has been a huge success.

"Now that switchover is complete, Ofcom is looking forward to delivering the 4G auction as the next step in delivering new higher speed mobile broadband services."