Members of the British parliament are finally waking up to the fact that digital TV services which will be rolled out across the Celtic countries in the next few years will not provide a full service to many rural areas.

The Celtic League pointed out sometime ago that some areas would not receive a full package of digital TV programming despite the fact that a standard broadcast licence levy will be charged to all households.

Now Liberal democrat MP Michael Moore has voiced fears about what he describes as an "unfair lottery" over the channels people will receive after Scotland's first digital television transmitter switch-over.

Moore says that viewers are being short-changed by the plans which are caused by a failure by broadcast authorities to ensure TV transmitter relays can carry all the multiplexes providing TV channels.

The reduced service dubbed 'Freeview Lite' by some will effect all of the UK will particularly effect rural areas in Scotland, Wales, N. Ireland and the Isle of Man which are out of reach of a main transmitter.

Meanwhile N. Ireland finds itself right at the back of the queue for TV digitalisation with full roll out of services not due to commence until 2011/12. We have been assured that Irish language broadcaster TG4 will be carried as part of the Freeview package in the North at that time. It remains to be seen if the service will be carried on all transmitters - both main and relays - although currently digital services transmitted from Belfast, Enniskillen and Derry do not have the service.

Nb. Despite commitments on access to TG4 given in the Belfast Agreement many Irish speakers in the north still only get overspill from 26 county broadcast transmitters whilst the TG4 analogue signal on the Divis (Belfast) transmitter is so weak that it fails to reach all of the greater Belfast area.

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J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League

30/10/07

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