Master antenna television system meaning

In legal practice, a master antenna television system (MATV) is a communal TV aerial and distribution network for multi-occupancy premises (for example, blocks of flats, hotels or student residences). A single central antenna on the roof or at a headend receives terrestrial broadcast signals (now typically digital) and distributes them by cabling to individual units. The term is descriptive rather than defined in legislation or case law, and is used consistently across England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland. Key legal issues in leases, sale agreements and construction contracts include: ownership of the system; rights to install, access, maintain and upgrade equipment over roofs, risers and common parts; allocation and recovery of capital and maintenance costs through the service charge; contractor warranties; compliance with applicable standards (for example BS EN 60728 and BS 7671), fire-stopping and safety; and insurance and responsibility for outages. Installation of aerials is often permitted development but may require planning permission or listed building/conservation area consent; parallel regimes apply in Ireland. Systems incorporating satellite reception are usually described as SMATV. An MATV is a receiving system and does not itself require Ofcom or ComReg authorisation, though occupiers remain responsible for any television licence requirements.