United Kingdom

[GB] Government Proposals for Digital Broadcasting

IRIS 1995-8:1/30

Tony Prosser

University of Bristol Law School

The UK Government is drawing up the legislative framework for digital terrestrial broadcasting. Six frequency channels will be made available initially for television, each able to carry at least three television channels, possibly many more. They will need to be multiplexed into a single digital signal for each frequency channel. In addition, seven radio frequency channels will be made available, each with the capacity to offer at least six digital stereo programme services. One of these channels will be allocated to the BBC for national services, another for independent national radio, four for local radio and the seventh is still to be allocated. The Independent Television Commission and the Radio Authority will be responsible for licensing and regulation. A competition will be organised for the multiplex providers who will be assessed on the basis of their proposals for infrastructure investment and the variety of channels proposed. Thus the system of awarding licenses to the highest financial bid adopted in other recent allocations has been abandoned. Guaranteed places will be offered to existing national broadcasters; a limit will be imposed to control concentration of ownership of 25% of digital capacity and 15% of total television audience.