Government Could Face £400m Bill For Digital Switchover
The Government may have to spend up to £400 million helping the most vulnerable members of society upgrade to digital television when the analogue signal is turned off in 2012.
A report published yesterday by the Ofcom Consumer Panel suggests that between £250 million and £400 million will need to be invested in a ‘practical support scheme’ aimed at helping socially isolated viewers make the switch to digital.
According to the highly influential report, those who do not have an adequate network of friends, family, neighbours or carers to turn to for support will face the biggest difficulty in finding out about and preparing for the switchover.
Colette Bowe, chairman of the Ofcom Consumer Panel, explained: “Digital switchover will be the biggest challenge for people who have to cope with it on their own, without the help of family, friends or neighbours. We are suggesting that a realistic way to meet this challenge is to mobilise existing community networks. This will cost money. But it will be the key to providing the support that vulnerable people will need if they are to be helped to keep their access to television.”
The Consumer Panel has made the several recommendations, including increased collaboration between SwitchCo, the body charged with implementing the switchover, and the voluntary sector and local government to identify people who need help through switchover and provide a scheme offering practical support.
The Ofcom Panel also recommends that financial assistance be offered to people currently eligible for television licence fee exemptions or concessions to meet the costs of one-off purchases of equipment and any necessary aerial upgrade work needed to make the transition to digital.
The need for action sooner rather than later is also underlined by the Panel, claiming that cases for those with vision or hearing impairments should be looked at in-depth quickly, with suitable equipment at reasonable cost made readily available. The report also calls for manufacturers and retailers to make all equipment on sale clearly labelled with its digital capabilities in order to prevent people making expensive mistakes.
Finally, and most urgently, the Panel recommended that an effective public information campaign should begin as soon as possible to promote the digital switchover, informing the population of the “What?”, the “How?” and the “How much?” of digital switchover.
The total cost of the Panel’s recommendations could lie between £250m and £400m, as the Panel does not yet know exactly the number of people who will need access to a practical support scheme, and supports a claim made by Freeview earlier this month that digital switchover could cost viewers up to £1 billion (see Digital Britain Will Incur £1 Billion Bill).
Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.uk
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