The wiping out of the TV signals in thousands of UK homes, because of interference from new high-speed 4G mobile phone networks, will reportedly lead to a cost of up to £10,000 each for the reconnection of the signals.

The reconnection of TV signals will be an inevitable move which will have to be undertaken when fourth-generation mobile phone networks start sharing the digital spectrum which digital terrestrial television (DTT) is presently using.

As a result of the sharing of DTT spectrum by 4G networks, over two million households in the vicinity of the new base stations will either witness distortion of their TV signals or even complete blackouts of some channels.

With experts having warned that TV signals in up to 2.3 million homes will face interference of some kind or the other due to the next-year-scheduled rollout of 4G networks, ministers have announced a `help scheme' of £180million for the UK households hit by TV signal-interference problems. The amount will largely be funded by the mobile phone operators.

However, with Freeview users likely to suffer the biggest blow because of the interference to TV signals, Ilse Howling - the managing director of Freeview - has expressed the apprehension that the Government's £180million budget is apparently an underestimation of the amount needed for fixing the problem.

Noting that the £180million budget does not include funding for installation, Howling said: "We think it will actually cost £400million."