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WHY DIGITAL TV?
The Office of the e-Envoy is committed to ensuring that government
services are delivered through the most appropriate channel
for the citizen. This brief focuses on digital television.
Over 97% of households have one or more television sets and
digital TV is already changing the way nine million of these
households think about television, by offering greater choice
and a more engaging experience. Analysts predict 60% to 75%
of UK households will take digital TV by 2005.
Digital TV not only provides customers with a wider choice
of channels, it also offers its users interactive services.
Despite an initially slow take up of interactive services,
due largely to unfamiliarity and the limited range of services
available, more recent evidence suggests that usage is increasing.
Some operators claim that the majority now uses interactive
services.
Interactive digital TV (DiTV) forms an important part of
the government's vision for online Britain. Digital connectivity
is the key to the new knowledge economy and the government
is committed to making Britain the best place in the world
for e-business.
DiTV is one of the ways of enabling connectivity in the home.
It will have much broader penetration than the personal computer
and presents a tremendous opportunity to conquer the digital
divide. Although a PC is better suited to some tasks, the
TV screen in the living room is an interface that people are
familiar with.
Overall Policy
There are two main pillars to government's plans for Digital
TV:
1. Digital Switchover
The criteria for digital switchover and potential analogue
switch-off are as follows:
- Everyone who can currently get the main public service
broadcasting channels in analogue form must be able to
receive them on digital systems
- Switching to digital is an affordable option for the
vast majority of people
- As a target indicator of affordability, 95% of consumers
must have access to digital equipment
2. Achieving a Competitive Market
The White Paper "Opportunity for All in a World of
Change", published in February 2001, stated the government's
aim to achieve the most dynamic and competitive market for
Digital TV in the G7.
As the first part of our strategy to achieve this, we will:
- Bring together key public and private sector stakeholders
to develop a comprehensive digital TV action plan
- Work with the broadcasters and others to launch a series
of digital TV projects, giving participating communities
the opportunity to help shape the future of DiTV
- Work with the broadcasters to promote public understanding
of the benefits DiTV can offer
Policy commitments
Government at all levels, from central to local, are to consider
DiTV as part of their channels strategy for delivering e-government.
The public consultation on the government's first version
of its Digital Television policy framework for delivering
e-government services closed in early February 2003 and the
framework will be published in the coming months.
The framework address the government objective of all government
services being delivered electronically by 2005 and in particular
outlines the role and vision of interactive digital television
in delivering e-government services.
>
Digital TV policy framework -consultation draft is still available
to read
Digital TV Action Plan
The Digital TV Action Plan will develop the strategy for
achieving the government's policy for the switchover to digital
television. Industry stakeholders have agreed the Plan. A
project team has been established comprising DCMS and DTI
officials and secondments from industry. Individual Working
Groups have been established to take forward specific actions
identified in the Action Plan.
Current Government DTV initiatives
The UK online interactive service - the planned common entry
point for central and local governments' DTV services - was
launched in April 2002. Currently provided over the BSkyB
Satellite platform, work is in progress to extend across all
available DTV platforms.
A number of other government departments and local authorities
are, or are considering piloting the delivery of their services
over DTV on the UK online interactive service. Of particular
note are projects in Suffolk and Somerset, which are being
funded by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) as
Pathfinder Projects. Both projects seek to provide information
about a wide range of local services, and also a means to
allow people to contact the council - for example to report
faulty street lights, non-collection of rubbish or abandoned
cars.
There are also a number of other government initiatives:
The Department of Health has conducted a number of DTV pilots.
These include the Living Health, Channel Health and Communicopia
projects.
The Living Health project involved piloting a range of digital
TV health applications to an audience of 50,000 in the Birmingham
area via the Telewest cable network.
Channel Health involved piloting a series of broadcast TV
programmes on maternity to a national audience of over 5 million,
with linked interactive information services via the Sky satellite
system.
The Communicopia project involved piloting a version of NHS
Direct Online on digital TV in East Yorkshire via Kingston
Interactive's ADSL network and in London via VNL's Homechoice
service.
Links:
>
DiTV consultation still available to read
>
www.digitaltelevision.gov.uk
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