Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessments she has made of the potential impact of the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 on (a) Freeview frequencies for mobile services and (b) access for UK viewers.

The Government remains committed to the future of broadcast television and radio, and, in particular, to the future of digital terrestrial television (DTT), the technology underpinning the popular Freeview platform, which relies on suitable access to ultra high frequency (UHF) spectrum.

The Government has been supportive of Ofcom’s negotiations on behalf of the UK within the ITU and at a European regional level. They have been advocating for the inclusion of a ‘no change’ option, which would maintain broadcast’s priority access to the UHF spectrum.

In addition, from a technical and regulatory perspective, even in a scenario where mobile was granted an allocation at the World Radiocommunication Conference 2023, and it is subsequently deployed in neighbouring countries, the UK would be able to rely on the ITU Radio Regulations, ITU Regional Agreements and existing bilateral TV broadcasting agreements with our neighbouring countries to ensure that DTT use of the spectrum in the UK can continue. Before any decisions about the future of DTT in the UK are made, close consideration will be given to how any changes would impact audiences.