Channel 5 Future Report

The closing date for sending comments to the ITC for the Discussion Documents on Digital Television and the Future of Channel 5 are 30 September and 15 October respectively. (Newsline 20/7)

The Digital Television study was to investigate the consequences of using UHF channels 35 and 37 (so far set aside for Channel 5) for digital television, and also the extent of any VCR interference problem if channels 35 or 37 were used digitally.

Preliminary results show that using channels 35 and 37 for digital television could mean that existing areas would have better coverage. In most areas it would be possible to use higher power than with existing frequencies, and this would enable more digital capacity, and therefore more digital programme services, within a single frequency channel.

The study has also shown that the use of low-power digital transmissions is unlikely to reduce the risk of interference caused by channels 35 or 37 to home VCRs or other equipment. The problem with VCR interference would be greater if high power digital transmissions were used, showing that the VCR problem cannot be ignored.

Responses should be sent to the Secretary to the ITC 071 255 3000