On the night of 22 to 23 May, Emitel executed a change in the frequencies and standard of broadcasting of digital terrestrial television channels MUX1, MUX2 and MUX4. The change affected nearly the entire southern Poland – namely the southern part of Greater Poland (Wielkopolska), Łódź Region (Ziemia Łódzka), Kielce Region (Kielecczyzna), Subcarpathia (Podkarpacie), Lesser Poland (Małopolska), Upper Silesia (Górny Śląsk) and Opole Region (Opolszczyzna).
With three of four stages of the project already completed, refarming of the 700 Mhz band is drawing to a close. When the process is finally completed, not only will Poles get a new quality of television, but the freed frequency band will contribute to developing the 5G mobile telephony network. The final stage to end the refarming process is scheduled to take place on 27 June of this year.
Viewers in Łódzkie Province may need to adjust the settings of their receiver antennas in addition to re-tuning their TV sets. Detailed parameters can be found in the EmiMaps app at: www.emitel.pl/strefa-klienta/odbior-rtv/aplikacja-emimaps/.
This night, the 700Mhz band refarming and the change in the digital terrestrial television broadcasting standard affected nearly the entire southern Poland. This means that terrestrial television in the DVB-T2 standard is already available across 68% of Poland’s territory.
The change to the DVB-T2/HEVC broadcasting standard taking place as part of the refarming means:
✓ Better image quality – HD resolution
✓ Possibility to broadcast UHD / 4k channels
✓ Better sound quality
✓ Wider range of amenities – sound personalisation
✓ Additional services – HbbTV hybrid television
✓ Better offer – it will be possible to include more channels in multiplexes.
Following the changes, most TV sets and decoders (the so-called Set-Top-Boxes, or STBs) should update their channel lists automatically. Some receiver models may require re-tuning with the remote control. Viewers who have older TV sets which are incompatible with the DVB-T2/HEVC standard should either purchase an STB or replace their TV sets to be able to receive digital terrestrial television. The Polish government is supporting households in paying the costs related to the change of the digital terrestrial television broadcasting standard by offering special co-funding coupons. The co-funding amount is PLN 250 for purchasing a TV set, and PLN 100 for purchasing a decoder. For details visit: https://www.gov.pl/web/dvbt2
The 700 MHz band refarming is an operation which involves shifting terrestrial television multiplexes from the 694–790 MHz frequency band to the lower 470–694 MHz band. This is caused by the requirement for European Union Member States to free up the 700 MHz band for the needs of mobile operators (5G services). The changes are compliant with the Ordinance of the President of the Office of Electronic Communications of 17 January 2020 on the frequency utilisation plan for the 470-790 MHz band.
As decided by UKE, no change has yet affected broadcasting of MUX3 channels as these can be transmitted in the DVB-T standard until the end of 2023 (https://www.uke.gov.pl/akt/mux-3-bedzie-mogl-nadawac-w-standardzie-dvb-t-do-konca-2023-r-,419.html). Furthermore, the change has not affected the broadcasting parameters of the MUX8 multiplex,which is transmitted in the VHF band and is not subject to the refarming process.
Emitel announces all the effected changes on its website at https://www.emitel.pl/refarming/. The information includes respective locations, planned change dates and channel numbers.
Information on the changes is available on Emitel’s website. Updated parameters of transmitter stations can be found at: www.emitel.pl/strefa-klienta/odbior-rtv/sprawdz-parametry-emisji/ and the EmiMaps app at: www.emitel.pl/strefa-klienta/odbior-rtv/aplikacja-emimaps/.