The Government has reportedly shelved plans to pay for millions of people to switch to digital TV, fuelling speculation that the current 2006-2010 deadline for the switchover will not be met.
A report in today’s
Financial Times claims that a scheme enabling millions of UK households to go digital was abandoned by the Government last summer, after the worsening economic climate left the Treasury unwilling to invest the funds.
The newspaper claims that the Government has admitted there is “no chance of meeting the 2006 deadline, while even the 2010 is looking optimistic.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Culture Media and Sport today denied any such plans had been abandoned, saying: “Any decision allowing public money to be spent on the digital switchover will be made in the next spending review, which is due to start shortly.
“Our target window is still very much in place, but clearly switchover will not take place unless the conditions laid down in the White Paper are met,” she added.
The Government, which has been criticised for showing a lack of initiative in driving the digital switchover, stepped up its plans to make the analogue switch-off a reality with the launch of its Digital Action Plan last month. The plan, which has been welcomed by the broadcasting industry as a step in the right direction, aims to help to increase the quality, reliability and geographical coverage of digital TV to ensure that switchover will be possible by the deadline.
