Switchover begins on the 17th of October
Monday, October 1st, 2007Digital UK ‘confident but not complacent’ over Whitehaven
The first stage of the digital switchover is due to begin in a matter of weeks. The historic port town of Whitehaven, underneath the Border ITV footprint has long been earmarked as the trial location for switchover to take place.
This is largely due to the persistent reception problems that have plagued the area since the first days of broadcasting history, the idea being that ‘if we can get it right here, we can get it right anywhere.’
At the Labour conference in Bournemouth MP for Carlisle Eric Martlew said: “It is right [that the switchover] is being carried out in Whitehaven. Any problems spotted will be dealt with before Border television switches over.”
MPs for Cumbria were given a briefing by members of Digital UK, the body appointed to the overseeing of the switchover. Simon Crine, director of corporate affairs at Digital UK said: “There were several good reasons for choosing Whitehaven. There is no digital signal there unless you have Sky, so it is a place where we can start from scratch.”
So far, initiatives launched to see that residents can get connected before the 17th include support schemes for those over 75, certain people claiming disability benefits or income support and the blind – support costs range from up to £40 or will be free to certain residents.
Mr Crine also said: “We are not complacent about progress but we are quietly confident. There is a high level of awareness and understanding and the people of Whitehaven seem very calm about it.”
It has never been easier to get hold of a Freeview box either, with certain ISPs, including Virgin Media and TalkTalk giving away receivers for free with certain packages, and with high street names such as Tesco offering customers bare-bones digital TV for just £10.
