Arqiva () is a British telecommunications company which provides infrastructure,

broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission ** ...

and

smart meter A smart meter is an electronic device that records information such as consumption of electric energy, voltage levels, current, and power factor. Smart meters communicate the information to the consumer for greater clarity of consumption beh ...

facilities in the United Kingdom. The company is headquartered at the former

Independent Broadcasting Authority The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television ( ITV and Channel 4 and limited satellite television regulation – cable television was the responsibility of the Cable Autho ...

headquarters at Crawley Court in the village of

Crawley, Hampshire Crawley is a small village in Hampshire, England. It is a few miles from the county town (and former capital) of Winchester. It is a civil parish within the City of Winchester local government district. The village is the location of Crawl ...

, just outside Winchester. Its main customers are broadcasters and utility companies, and its main asset is a network of circa. 1,500 radio and television transmission sites. It is owned by a consortium of investors led by CPP (

Canada Pension Plan The Canada Pension Plan (CPP; french: Régime de pensions du Canada) is a contributory, earnings-related social insurance program. It forms one of the two major components of Canada's public retirement income system, the other component being Old ...

) and the Australian investment house Macquarie Bank. Arqiva is a patron of the

Radio Academy The Radio Academy is a registered charity dedicated to "the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production". It was formed in 1983 and is run via a board of trustees, with a chair and a deputy chair ...

. Through its Now Digital subsidiary, it operates various local digital radio ensembles.

History

The company, which has a history that dates back to the beginning of regular public broadcasting in the United Kingdom, was actually only formed in 2005. Below is a potted history of the various organisations that are now part of Arqiva:

BBC

Responsibility for the transmitter assets of the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

lay solely within the corporation from its foundation in 1922 until 1997. The assets were then split into a separate company, prior to being sold. The domestic transmitter network was purchased by a US company,

Crown Castle Crown Castle is a real estate investment trust and provider of shared communications infrastructure in the United States. Its network includes over 40,000 cell towers approximately 85,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solu ...

, when it was privatised in 1997. Subsequently, in 2004, this was purchased by National Grid plc, which merged in its own private communication network, the name changing to National Grid Wireless in October 2005. Transmitters used by the BBC overseas services were sold to a new startup company, called Merlin Communications.

National Grid

National Grid plc had a large internal network for the communication of its engineers serving initially the electricity companies, but subsequently, the gas industry as well. This company developed on the back of the growth in mobile phones, and its large portfolio of tower locations. This was added to by the purchase of the former BBC network (as above). National Grid Wireless, as it became, led a consortium bidding for the second UK national

DAB DAB, dab, dabs, or dabbing may refer to: Dictionaries * '' Dictionary of American Biography'', published under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies * ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'', published since 1949 Places * Dą ...

multiplex Multiplex may refer to: * Multiplex (automobile), a former American car make * Multiplex (comics), a DC comic book supervillain * Multiplex (company), a global contracting and development company * Multiplex (assay), a biological assay which measu ...

licence, but was unsuccessful. The licence was awarded instead to

4 Digital Group 4 Digital Group was a media consortium in the United Kingdom. In July 2007, the group won the licence to operate the second national DAB radio multiplex. The consortium, led by Channel 4 Radio, was a combination of existing commercial radio op ...

in July 2007.

Independent Television Authority (ITA) / Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA)

The

Television Act 1954 The Television Act 1954 was a British law which permitted the creation of the first commercial television network in the United Kingdom, ITV. Until the early 1950s, the only television service in Britain was operated as a monopoly by the Briti ...

gave birth to the Independent Television Authority (ITA). The ITA appointed and regulated a number of regional programme contractors, and built and operated a network of transmitters. The

Sound Broadcasting Act 1972 In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

created legal commercial radio in the UK for the first time. It was modelled on ITA, in that programmes were made by local contractors while the regulator, renamed the

, owned and operated the transmitters.

ITC, Ofcom, Radio Authority and Transcom

The

Broadcasting Act 1990 The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament, initiated in part due to a 1989 European Council Directive (89/552), also known as the Television Without Frontiers directive. The aim of the Act was to liberalise and deregulate the B ...

split the IBA into three bodies. The

Independent Television Commission The Independent Television Commission (ITC) licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom (except S4C in Wales) between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003. History The creation of ITC, by the Broadcasting Act ...

(ITC) regulated commercial TV and the

Radio Authority Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

(RA) regulated commercial radio. The IBA's engineering division, which operated the transmitters as well as doing research and development, became an independent company called National Transcommunications Limited (NTL), also known as "Transcom". At this point, technical standards regulation, previously carried out in accordance with the IBA engineering "Code of Practice", seems to have disappeared from the regulatory landscape.

CableTel, Simoco, NTL

Transcom was acquired by International CableTel, which subsequently built its brand around the NTL name. It ran up huge debts during the

dot-com boom The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet. Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Compos ...

which crippled the company for many years. In 1998, NTL acquired the UK antenna sites business of Simoco, a

private mobile radio Professional mobile radio (also known as private mobile radio (PMR) in the UK) are person-to-person two-way radio voice communications systems which use portable, mobile, base station, and dispatch console radios. PMR radio systems are based on ...

(PMR) company formed from Philips Telecom – PMR. In 1999 NTL acquired the UK field service operations business of Simoco. In 2004, NTL sold its 'broadcast unit' to Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group, but continued as a cable operator.

Macquarie

In January 2005, Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group renamed its new subsidiary Arqiva. Subsequently in July 2009, Macquarie sold off a substantial part of its holding and moved the remaining amount to its investment fund. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) now has a 48% holding and Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 2 (MEIF 2) has 21%, with other Macquarie Group funds holding 13%

Inmedia

Arqiva acquired Inmedia Communications from the Carlyle Group for £68.5 million in July 2005 to form the new Satellite Media Solutions business unit. Inmedia was owned by

Kingston Communications KCOM Group (formerly known as Kingston Communications and latterly KC) is a UK communications and IT services provider. Its headquarters are in the city of Kingston upon Hull, and it serves local residents and businesses with Internet and telep ...

and known as Kingston inmedia before being bought by the

Carlyle Group The Carlyle Group is a multinational private equity, alternative asset management and financial services corporation based in the United States with $376 billion of assets under management. It specializes in private equity, real assets, and pri ...

in 2004.

BT Broadcast

Arqiva announced the signing of a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with BT to acquire the full-time service components of BT’s Satellite Broadcast Services business for £25 million in cash in November 2006. The deal will include long-term customer contracts, operations and personnel located in the USA, France, Italy and the Netherlands, as well as the UK. Deal completion is subject to regulatory approval in the UK and Germany.

National Grid Wireless

Arqiva purchased National Grid Wireless on 3 April 2007 for £2.5 billion. The company planned to run NGW as a separate company – Macquarie UK Broadcast Ventures Ltd – pending review of the deal by competition regulators. Regulatory agreement was reached in late 2008 and National Grid Wireless was amalgamated into Arqiva. The new company employs around 775 people and operates all the TV and most of the radio transmitters in the UK (BBC national and local and many commercial stations). It is deemed to be a monopoly operator and as such is regulated by Ofcom.

JFMG

Arqiva purchased PMSE band manager JFMG 19 February 2009. JFMG were contracted by communications regulator Ofcom to provide spectrum management and licensing services for programme making and special events (PSME). In May 2015 Ofcom made the decision to end the contract with Arqiva and to insource the existing services.

Recent activity

OneVision DTT Licence application

During 2009, Arqiva were involved in the possibility of provision of digital pay TV in Ireland.

SeeSaw

In March 2010, Arqiva invested in and launched a catch-up

Internet television Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as TV shows, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air a ...

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded medi ...

service called SeeSaw. Subsequently the holding in the company was reduced to 25%.

WiFi

In July 2012, Arqiva bought Spectrum Interactive, a wholesale only WiFi provider. In 2016, Arqiva sold its WiFi business to

Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ventu ...

Sale of telecommunications business

In October 2019, the company sold its telecommunication business to

Cellnex Cellnex Telecom is a Spanish wireless telecommunications infrastructure and services company with up to 53,000 sites throughout Europe. Its activity is divided into four main areas: services for telecommunications infrastructures; audiovisual b ...

Change of ownership

In June 2022,

Digital 9 Infrastructure Digital 9 Infrastructure is an investment company which invests in digital infrastructure. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. The company is managed by Triple Point Investment Management, a fi ...

acquired a 48% stake in Arqiva from the

Notable transmitter sites

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...

() *

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

() * Arfon () *

Ashkirk Ashkirk is a small village on the Ale Water, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is located just off the A7 road, approximately each way between Selkirk to the north and Hawick to the south. Other places nearby include the Alemoor L ...

() * Ashton Moss ( & ) *

Beacon Hill Beacon Hill may refer to: Places Canada * Beacon Hill, Ottawa, Ontario, a neighbourhood * Beacon Hill Park, a park in Victoria, British Columbia * Beacon Hill, Saskatchewan * Beacon Hill, Montreal, a neighbourhood in Beaconsfield, Quebec United ...

( & ) * Belmont () * Black Hill * Black Mountain * Bilsdale West Moor * Blaenplwyf () * Bluebell Hill () *

Bressay Bressay ( sco, Bressa) is a populated island in the Shetland archipelago of Scotland. Geography and geology Bressay lies due south of Whalsay, west of the Isle of Noss, and north of Mousa. With an area of , it is the fifth-largest island in She ...

Brookmans Park Brookmans Park is a village in Hertfordshire, southeast England, known for its BBC transmitter station. Brookmans Park railway station, on the East Coast Main Line, is operated by Great Northern. It is also a waypoint used in air navigation ...

* Brougher Mountain () *

Burghead Burghead ( sco, Burgheid or ''The Broch'', gd, Am Broch) is a small town in Moray, Scotland, about north-west of Elgin. The town is mainly built on a peninsula that projects north-westward into the Moray Firth, surrounding it by water on thre ...

Burnhope Burnhope is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is located in the Craghead valley on the opposite side to Stanley and has 1,564 inhabitants, as measured in the 2011 census. Burnhope overlooks Lanchester in the Brown ...

Caldbeck Caldbeck is a village in Cumbria, England, historically within Cumberland, it is situated within the Lake District National Park. The village had 714 inhabitants according to the census of 2001. Caldbeck is closely associated with neighbourin ...

Caradon Hill Caradon Hill ( kw, Bre Garn) is on Bodmin Moor in the former Caradon district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The summit is above mean sea level. Caradon Hill is on the southeastern edge of the moor; it is between the villages of Minions ...

* Carmel () *

Chatton Chatton is a village in Northumberland, in England. It is roughly to the east of Wooler. History Chatton has been occupied for many centuries. There has been a church on the site since the twelfth century. There is evidence of occupation i ...

() *

Chillerton Down Chillerton Down is downland between the villages of Shorwell and Chillerton, on the Isle of Wight, England. Description The highest point of the hill is , and its prominence is . There is a trig point within 2 metres of the summit. Part of Chi ...

Clevedon Clevedon (, ) is an English seaside town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, part of the ceremonial county of Somerset. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 ...

() * Craigkelly *

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensive ...

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition buildin ...

() * Darvel () *

Daventry Daventry ( , historically ) is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority in Northamptonshire, England, close to the border with Warwickshire. At the 2021 Census Daventry had a population of 28,123, makin ...

Divis Divis (; ) is a hill and area of sprawling moorland north-west of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. With a height of 1,568 ft (478 m), it is the highest of the Belfast Hills. It is joined with the neighbouring Black Mountain, a ...

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals *Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

() * Dover * Droitwich * Durris () * Eitshal () *

Emley Moor The Emley Moor transmitting station is a telecommunications and broadcasting facility on Emley Moor, west of the village centre of Emley, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. It is made up of a concrete tower and apparatus that began ...

() * Forfar () * Fort William () * Frémont Point * Hannington () *

Haverfordwest Haverfordwest (, ; cy, Hwlffordd ) is the county town of Pembrokeshire, Wales, and the most populous urban area in Pembrokeshire with a population of 14,596 in 2011. It is also a community, being the second most populous community in the county, ...

* Heathfield * Holme Moss () * Huntshaw Cross () *

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of th ...

* Keelylang Hill () *

Kilvey Hill Kilvey Hill ( Welsh: ''Mynydd Cilfái'' or ''Y Bigwrn'') is a hill in South Wales, to the east of Swansea. Kilvey Hill is high and is classed as a Sub Marilyn. The top of Kilvey Hill enjoys panoramic views of Swansea city centre, Swansea Dock ...

() * Kirk o'Shotts * Knock More () * Les Platons () *

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

() *

Limavady Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 12,032 people at the 2011 Census. In the 40 years betwee ...

() * Lisnagarvey *

Llanddona Llanddona (; ); ) is a village and community noted for its sandy beach in the Welsh county of Anglesey. Located between Benllech and Beaumaris, it is popular as a holiday destination, particularly for families. Llanddona has no shops; however ...

Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community, situated on the River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Bea ...

() * Londonderry () *

Manningtree Manningtree is a town and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England, which lies on the River Stour. It is part of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Natural Beauty. Smallest town claim Manningtree has traditionally claimed to ...

() * Meldrum () * Melvaig * Membury * Mendip * Mendlesham * Midhurst () * Moel-y-Parc * Moorside Edge () * Mounteagle * North Hessary Tor () *

Oban Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, ...

() *

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

() *

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...

* Pontop Pike *

Preseli Preseli Pembrokeshire (, ; cy, Preseli Sir Benfro) was one of six local government districts of Dyfed in West Wales from 1974 to 1996. Until 1987 the name of the district was Preseli. The district took its name from the Preseli Hills. Creation Th ...

Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also includes Carn Brea, Illogan ...

* Ridge Hill *

Rosemarkie Rosemarkie ( sco, Rossmartnie, from gd, Ros Mhaircnidh meaning "promontory of the horse stream") is a village on the south coast of the Black Isle peninsula in Ross-shire (Ross and Cromarty), northern Scotland. Geography Rosemarkie lies a quart ...

() * Rowridge * Rumster Forest * Sandale *

Sandy Heath Sandy Heath transmitting station is a television broadcast station located between Sandy, Bedfordshire and Potton near the B1042. It is owned by Arqiva, formerly NTL Broadcast. It was built in 1965, originally broadcasting Anglia Television on V ...

* Selkirk * Skriaig () *

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

* Stagshaw () * St. Hilary () * St Thomas * Start Point * Stockland Hill *

Strabane Strabane ( ; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,172 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the east bank of the River Foyle. It is roughly midway from Omagh, Derry and Letterkenny. The River Foyle mark ...

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal el ...

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles sou ...

() *

Swingate Swingate is a village near Dover in Kent, England. The population of the village is included in the civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which i ...

* Tacolneston * Tapton Hill/Sheffield (Crosspool) * Thrumster () * Torosay () * Waltham * Washford () *

Wenvoe Wenvoe ( cy, Gwenfô) is a village, community and electoral ward between Barry and Cardiff in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. Nearby are the Wenvoe Transmitter near Twyn-yr-Odyn and the site of the former HTV Wales Television Centre at Culverhouse ...

* Westerglen *

West Kirby West Kirby is a resort town on the north-west corner of the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England, at the mouth of the River Dee. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Cheshire, to the north-east lies Hoylake, to the east Grange ...

* Winter Hill () * The Wrekin *

Wrotham Wrotham ( ) is a village on the Pilgrims' Way in Kent, England, at the foot of the North Downs. It is north of Borough Green and approximately east of Sevenoaks. It is between the M20 and M26 motorways. History The name first occurs as ...

* Zouches Farm

References

Sources

* Pawley, Edward (1972). ''BBC Engineering 1922–1972''. London, BBC. * Shacklady, Norman and Ellen, Martin (2003). ''On Air: A History of BBC Transmission''. Wavechange Books. (paperback) (hardback).

External links

*
Arqiva Online Virtual Tour
{{Telecommunications industry in the United Kingdom Telecommunications companies of the United Kingdom 2005 establishments in the United Kingdom 2005 mergers and acquisitions

History

BBC

National Grid

Independent Television Authority (ITA) / Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA)

ITC, Ofcom, Radio Authority and Transcom

CableTel, Simoco, NTL

Macquarie

Inmedia

BT Broadcast

National Grid Wireless

JFMG

Recent activity

OneVision DTT Licence application

SeeSaw

WiFi

Sale of telecommunications business

Change of ownership

Notable transmitter sites

See also

References

Sources

External links