With the government in the United Kingdom expected to publish its provisional conclusions on the future of television distribution, the company that runs the terrestrial transmission network has proposed what it calls a viable, cost-effective and future-proofed plan that would maintain digital terrestrial television until around 2045.
In written evidence to a parliamentary inquiry, Arqiva proposes replacing the current six national digital terrestrial television multiplexes with three multiplexes, including a shared BBC and PSB multiplex from 2034 onwards, while maintaining 98.5% coverage and extending terrestrial television into the mid-2040s.
Arqiva argues that extending digital terrestrial transmissions beyond 2034 is a pragmatic and enabling approach that protects universal access to broadcast services while supporting the hybrid services. It says that by maintaining a resilient broadcast backbone through to at least 2045, the United Kingdom can support a transition to online distribution over the longer term, while simultaneously unlocking spectrum, efficiency and innovation benefits across the network.
Around 13.6 million homes in the United Kingdom currently rely on digital terrestrial television, many of them supplementing this with online services. There is also a significant minority of 4.9 million homes without an internet connected television, including 1.3 million homes without any broadband connection.
Digital terrestrial television accounted for 46.5% of all public service broadcaster viewing in 2025, which is three times the level attributed to online viewing of their output. BBC One and ITV1 each derive that level of viewing from terrestrial television, while online accounts for 17% and 12% respectively.
Arqiva says that no comprehensive transition plan has been set out detailing how or when universal broadcast services could be replaced by online delivery.
It proposes to modernise the digital terrestrial television platform in the United Kingdom by moving from six national multiplexes to three, using a more efficient transmission standard that is already supported by most televisions. This would include one multiplex shared by the BBC and other public service broadcasters from 2034 onwards. It says that this would sustain universal free-to-air broadcast television into at least the middle of the 2040s, while providing a practical, proportionate pathway for the long-term evolution of television distribution.
The digital terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom is currently carried over six core multiplexes. Three are licensed to public service broadcasters, of which two are used by the BBC and one is shared by ITV and Channel 4. Three others are licensed to commercial operators, two of which are to Arqiva and one is used by ITV. There is an additional multiplex that carries local television and other services, and a further multiplex serving Northern Ireland.
Much of the existing DVB-T terrestrial transmission infrastructure installed during digital switchover will be reaching the end of its operating life. Modernising the network using the more recent DVB-T2 standard would provide more efficient use of spectrum.
As part of a future DTT network, Arqiva proposes transitioning from the current six core multiplexes to three DVB-T2 multiplexes after 2034, while offering a similar range of services to viewers.
Arqiva says that this would reduce the collective costs for the BBC and other public service broadcasters by 40% in real terms, reducing power consumption by over 40%. It would also unlock the 600 MHz band for government auction and mobile use.
The transmission services provider notes that the cost of retaining digital terrestrial television for the BBC could amount to just 2% of current licence fee income. That is about £80 million a year.
Of course, the BBC would rather not pay that at all, but distribution is a cost of business for any broadcaster or media organisation. The cost of delivery over the internet is far from free. Then there are radio services that are carried using the same tower infrastructure as television services.
The digital terrestrial transmission network currently supports critical national infrastructure for the country and remains remarkably resilient. The tall tower infrastructure is used by various critical services, including emergency communications.
While the internet is designed to be resilient, it can still be liable to disruption and interruption.
Although the availability of internet access is pervasive, it is still a problem in rural areas. Availability is not the same as uptake and some users, particularly those that are elderly and vulnerable do not have adequate internet connectivity.
To replicate the universal reach of digital terrestrial television, Arqiva argues that high-speed fixed broadband connection of at least 30 Mbps would need to be effectively guaranteed to 98.5% of households. This would require a huge and ongoing subsidy to support those who could not afford it, which would almost certainly fall on taxpayers. It suggests that this could cost £1 billion a year in subsidies.
Arqiva argues that there is currently no plan that would maintain universal and free access to television in the event that digital terrestrial television was to be switched off.
The company says that a hybrid model, where terrestrial television provides a universal foundation and online delivery offers additional choice and functionality, remains the best approach for 2034 and beyond.
Naturally there is an element of self-interest, as switching off terrestrial television transmissions would have commercial consequences for the provider of these services. It could also have unintended consequences for other services.
Ultimately, the government may need to support the provision of universal access one way of another.
Public service broadcasters take a rather different view. In evidence to the same inquiry, the Future TV Taskforce, which represents the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 among others, argues that audiences are increasingly choosing services delivered online and that the long-term direction of travel is towards online distribution.
It says that only 2.8 million homes still rely on digital terrestrial television and do not have access to online services on their television. Of these only 900,000 homes, or about 3% of homes, do not have broadband internet access.
The broadcasters suggest that consolidation on a modernised DVB-T2 platform would leave viewers with a second-tier service with only a few channels.
Based on current DVB-T2 capacity estimates, three multiplexes could support a line-up of more than 20 high-definition television channels, depending on compression, picture quality and other operational factors.
The challenge for policymakers is that the debate is about much more than technology. It involves economics, spectrum policy, resilience, digital inclusion and the future of public service broadcasting. The question is no longer simply whether television can be delivered over the internet. It is what society expects universal television to mean in the coming decades.
The submissions are among those published on the parliament web site as written evidence to the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee inquiry into the BBC Royal Charter Review.