Tests on new Bilsdale TV mast take place today
It could mean that parts of North Yorkshire could lose TV signal again ahead of the temporary mast going live
Tests on the new, temporary mast at Bilsdale will take place today (Tuesday, 12 October) - two months after the main one caught fire.
But it will mean everyone will lose their TV signal for a short period - even those that had signal restored.
The new emergency mast - which will serve 95 per cent of the 600,000 homes across Teesside, County Durham and North Yorkshire still without signal - will be switched on tomorrow (Wednesday, 13 October).
The mast’s owners Arqiva have said:
"Depending on the weather, we will be carrying out a full test of the new, temporary mast at Bilsdale today, Tuesday 12 October.
"During this test, most people across the area will lose their TV signal for a period. We know this is frustrating, and we apologise for the disruption, but this is an important step in restoring your TV services. You do not need to retune your TV yet, as the signal will come and go while we complete the testing.
"From early on Wednesday morning (6am onwards) you will need to retune your TV to restore your services. The instructions on how to do that can be found here.
"This is all part of essential work to restore and improve Freeview services for households following the Bilsdale mast fire. Once this has been done, more than 90% of households will have a restored or improved service."
However, it does mean some areas will not have their signal restored - despite the new temporary mast going live.
Arqiva continued:
"In a small number of areas, some people still won’t receive a signal after the temporary mast is switched on. Unfortunately, we’ll only know which households are still affected once the mast is up and running."