Government May Expedite Arrival Of Digital Television

Chris Smith, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, last week made proposals that the government may play a part in expediting the installation of digital television. He spoke of Government involvement in providing possible financial incentives for the acquisition of the set-top boxes required to receive digital television.

Whilst wanting to “make the benefits of the information age as widely accessible as possible” he said there was not to be a “crude subsidy” or interference with the operation of the market. Chris Smith also pointed to the need to free up ‘wasted’ valuable radio spectrum which is currently taken up by terrestrial broadcasting.

One possibility in the easing of this passage to digital is to stop broadcasting analogue television signals in order to ‘force’ consumers to turn to digital. This has been discussed but was not explicitly stated by Smith. Manufacturers say that the unsubsidised cost of the set-top boxes will be about £400, although digital broadcasters are liable to provide subsidies.