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10
Sept 2021
Thousands still without TV signal, says local electrical firm
Thousands of people in the Harrogate district are still without TV coverage after the Bilsdale transmitter fire, says the owner of a local electrical firm.
Stephen Craggs, managing director of G Craggs Ltd, which has stores in Ripon and Boroughbridge, told the Stray Ferret he was still receiving calls from people unable to get channels on their televisions.
Arqiva, the company which owns the transmitter, said this week its temporary mast at Sutton Bank had restored coverage to many areas, such as Masham and Ripon.
But, Mr Cragg said that was not what customers were telling him.
He said:
Mr Cragg said the majority of people calling him were elderly who relied on television as a means of company.
He added that some did not own tablets and had no catch-up television.
Read more:
- Bilsdale fire: channels restored to Harrogate district — but problems remain
- Temporary Bilsdale transmitter replacement ‘could take months’
Following the temporary transmitter being built, a number of district residents told the Stray Ferret that retuning their TVs had brought back some channels but not all.
We are continuing to receive messages from readers saying they are without services. One woman in Ripon told us she would be happy to receive just one channel showing back-to-back repeats of Crossroads.
Many people have been unable to watch TV since the Bilsdale mast caught fire a month ago today.
Mr Cragg criticised Arqiva for appearing to have “no strategy” for dealing with the situation and described the past month as a “fiasco”.
In the company's latest update, Paul Donovan, chief executive of Arqiva, said on Wednesday:
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