Ofcom Still Considering HD On Freeview
Ed Richards, Ofcom chief executive, has said that the regulator has not yet been persuaded to allocate spectrum for HD channels on Freeview.
However, in a keynote speech at the Institute of Economic Affairs conference on the Future of Broadcasting, Richards said that Ofcom would do everything it can to help public service broadcasters create an HD presence on the DTT platform using existing spectrum.
Richards said: “We have no wish artificially to advantage or disadvantage any one platform. We want viewers to have the widest possible choice. We remain platform neutral but also pro-competition. And we are enthusiastic supporters of the wide availability of exciting new services such as HD – and that absolutely includes Freeview.
“So where does that leave us? Firstly, we continue to believe in a market-based approach to spectrum, driving forward spectrum liberalisation, releasing more spectrum, encouraging spectrum trading and overall a more efficient use of spectrum across the whole economy.
“Secondly… we are not yet persuaded by the case, argued predominantly by the ‘HD for All’ campaign, that the best and only way to maximise the economic and social benefit of the spectrum released by digital switchover is simply to gift some or all of it to the broadcasters for high definition broadcasts for free.”
He added: “At the technical level, there is much less difference than has been rumoured between Ofcom and the broadcasters about what is technically feasible as a result of adopting new coding and transmission standards. The best advice that we have is that Freeview could get up to four universal coverage high definition terrestrial channels from 2012, with the possibility of a more limited set of services being available in some parts of the country from as early as 2009-10, just by using the existing spectrum.
Richards announced in April that the regulator would look at the public interest case for freeing up analogue spectrum for HDTV (see Ofcom To Look Again At HD On Freeview).
Earlier this year, Freeview overtook Sky as the main way for UK viewers to watch multichannel TV (see Freeview Overtakes Sky).
Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.uk