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Viewers could find themselves without most television channels between January and April

tdt fotoSilvia Tur, councillor of the environment and new technologies, and Jaume Zaragoza, head of the Council's office of information and communication technologies, held a press conference this morning to announce that reception of many of the television channels normally received on Formentera risked interruption between 1 January and 15 April.

The reason: 1 January is the date the Regional Ministry of Industry has asked that 4G communications companies begin emitting signals on the radio waves heretofore dedicated to television.

In theory, facilities transmitting digital terrestrial television (DTT) signals have until 1 January to assure the change is seamless, but this has not yet happened at broadcast towers in Es Cap, La Mola or Sa Miranda – nor does the Govern of the Balearic Islands foresee this will occur before 15 April.

On-screen messages have already begun alerting viewers of the necessity of either re-synchronising their television channels (for owners of separate antennas) or contacting the antenna service provider (for users of collective antennas).

Neither operation will be of any use on Formentera until the Es Cap, Sa Miranda and La Mola antennas are re-synchronised. Until that happens, Formentera homes will be unable to receive television signals broadcast on the new frequencies.

The problem, according to Silvia Tur, “is that Albertis – the company contracted by Palma to synchronise TV transmission facilities in the Balearics – has announced it will not come to Formentera until 15 April.”

That means that if any 4G operator tries to provide local service between 1 January and 15 April – or if any channel stops broadcasting on the frequencies used until now – those customers will not be able to view the corresponding emissions.

Councillor Tur requested the Govern “take the steps necessary to ensuring that transmission towers in Es Cap, Sa Miranda and La Mola are prepared to receive 4G and DDT by 1 January. There is no reason the administration should be caught off-guard by these changes.”