A village that recently saw 4G mobile signal switched on has been warned the new infrastructure could affect Freeview television.

Residents of Llandinam were thrilled with the announcement that 4G was coming to the area last year.

It came as a welcome news after March 2017 saw many people lose mobile signal for up to three weeks, while the same month the village was revealed to be the second-slowest council ward in the UK for broadband speed.

Now the 4G signal is up and running, those who watch Freeview have been issued with guidance about what to do if they find their TV signal has started to play up.

Providers have said there is a small chance that some 4G mobile signals transmitted at 800 MHz will cause interference, as these sit next to the frequencies used by Freeview, so can overload the receivers in TVs and set-top boxes.

Signs of interference are loss of sound, pictures going blocky, freezing or the TV screen going blank or showing a ‘No Signal’ message.

The good news is help is available. Set-up under government direction, a company called at800 offers free support to households that rely on Freeview for their TV to resolve 4G related interference problems.

Ben Roome, CEO of at800, said: “We want to ensure that people know it’s our role to fix Freeview interference caused by 4G at 800 MHz, and that there’s no charge for our service.

“If you rely on Freeview for TV, we can arrange for one of our accredited engineers to visit homes to fix Freeview interference caused by 4G signals, free of charge.

“If you use Freeview alongside other TV services, we can send free filters which block mobile signals that are easy to fit to the aerial lead connecting to TVs and set-top boxes.”

Cable and satellite TV, like Sky or Virgin, won’t be affected.

However, if viewers have cable and satellite TV and also watch Freeview, at800 can provide free filters and advice, but not in-home engineer support.

People who live in communal properties should contact at800 and also advise their landlords. at800 can provide free filters to landlords but property managers are responsible for the cost of fitting these.

at800 also offers extra support for people who are 75 years of age or older, are registered blind or partially sighted or receive certain benefits.

n With more 4G masts due to go live, any viewers who experience new interference to Freeview should contact at800 on 0808 1313 800 or go to www.at800.tv