UK mobile networks eye the airwaves Freeview still uses

Key Points

Mobile networks want the 600 MHz band terrestrial TV still uses
The report calls the 400 MHz to 1 GHz range Britain’s most contested
Pressure on terrestrial TV may extend beyond 600 MHz
Festival and concert wireless mics could lose another 34% of their spectrum
A 2025 study modelled futures including a full TV switch-off by 2035

Mobile operators want the 600 MHz band that digital terrestrial TV still occupies. The pressure is mounting according to a new report from Coleago Consulting for the UK Spectrum Policy Forum, which named the 400 MHz to 1 GHz range as the most contested spectrum in Britain.

Coleago described the competition between mobile and digital terrestrial TV in this range as “zero-sum gridlock”. It said the pressure on TV to give way to mobile will likely continue, possibly beyond the 600 MHz band.

Mobile networks value low-band spectrum because it travels long distances and passes through walls, which higher frequencies cannot replicate. The report found that congestion on mobile networks runs highest across their sub-1 GHz holdings.

Coleago said that mobile demand in this range could not be met in full even if every other user gave way. Digital terrestrial TV has already lost large amounts of spectrum to mobile broadband, and the report pointed to the continuing decline in linear TV viewing as the driver. It said terrestrial TV still matters to more vulnerable viewers, even as its share of viewing falls.

The UK Spectrum Policy Forum’s 2025 report on the band modelled five futures for terrestrial TV after 2034. These ranged from targeted upgrades to a full switch-off by 2035 in favour of TV over the internet.

Wireless microphones and in-ear monitors at concerts, festivals and sporting events share the same 470 MHz to 694 MHz band as terrestrial TV. They use the gaps between TV transmitters, with Channel 38 reserved nationally for their exclusive use.

The British Entertainment Industry Radio Group estimates that these users lost 43% of their spectrum over the past decade, after Ofcom cleared the 800 MHz band in 2012 and the 700 MHz band in 2020 for mobile. The group said handing the 600 MHz band to mobile would strip out another 34% of what remains.

The industry has warned that large UK events may then struggle to find enough interference-free spectrum for their equipment. The report said it remains heavily disputed whether wireless microphones could share a future mobile 600 MHz band.

Mobile networks are also pursuing spectrum in the Upper 6 GHz band, the 4.5 GHz band and other frequencies above 6 GHz, because the 600 MHz band alone is too thin to meet future demand.