Commission calls for full switchover to digital broadcasting by 2012
The European Commission has called on Member States to set a 2012 deadline for making the switch to digital television broadcasts from analogue services. This will make the EU the first region worldwide to go fully digital. This call comes a week before the launch of the Commission's i2010 five year programme, which is intended to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the digital economy, and to help the EU close the gap with the US and Japan in this field. 'By recommending 2012 as the EU deadline for the digital switch-off, I would like to give a political signal to market participants and customers alike that digital TV will soon be a reality,' stated Information Society and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding. 'The sooner we complete switchover, the sooner our citizens and businesses will benefit. Pan-European coordination of spectrum use will then give our citizens access to new services that combine mobile telephony and broadcasting, such as mobile 'datacasting' of videos, or multimedia content. Most EU Member States that have already decided a switch-off date have chosen 2010. Six others have chosen 2012 at the latest,' she added. According to the Commission, digital broadcasting uses a third to half as much frequency as analogue broadcasting. A switch to digital technology would, therefore, free up spectrum capacity for other uses, such as new broadcasting and mobile telephony services, 'which will in turn stimulate innovation and growth in the TV and electronic communications industries,' explains the Commission. The Commission is also calling for a coordinated approach to making a freed-up spectrum available across the EU. In a recent interview with IDG News Service, Ms Reding explained that regulation is necessary to ensure fair allocation of the frequency spectrum. 'Things developed through R&D [research and development] go nowhere if you don't have the frequency,' she told IDG News Service. By setting an EU-wide target date for completing the switch-over, the Commission hopes to make it easier for industry to take advantage of the broadcasting capacity that will be made available. 'Digital TV and the additional new services will contribute to increased market competition between various electronic communication network operators and to faster innovation, e.g. from broadcasters, network operators and from developers of interactive applications,' states the Commission. This focus on industry take-up is a main feature of the i2010 programme, a major change from the past emphasis on fundamental research. Under the new programme five key areas have been identified: knowledge, content and creativity; advanced and open communications networks; secure and dependable software; embedded systems; and nanoelectronics. As Ms Reding explained to IDG News Service, i2010, aims to create the right framework for investment in the information technology (IT) sector, to boost the take-up of IT by consumers and businesses, and deal with the increasing convergence between different technologies. The purpose of i2010 is to unite all the different tools of policy making, including smart regulation and investment in research, to spread the digital economy's benefits, while encouraging different industries to work together for their mutual advantage, she explained. The Commission will unveil the i2010 programme on 1 June.