There are no firm plans to launch a HD service on Freeview. If it does happen, you'll have to wait till 2012 for a national terrestrial HD service. Only when the analogue signal is switched off will enough bandwidth be freed up to broadcast HDTV signals.

However, the bandwidth will be sold off via the open market, so the TV companies will face competition from, for example, mobile phone networks. Ofcom has ruled that no bandwidth can be 'reserved' for a free-to-air terrestrial HD service. However, the BBC and ITV have launched a new satellite service called FreeSAT, which has two HD channels, BBC HD and ITV HD, with the promise of more.