14 Transition from analogue to digital
broadcasting
| (24898)
12753/03
ADD1
COM(03) 541
| Commission Communication on the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting (from digital "switchover" to analogue "switch-off").
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| Legal base | — |
| Document originated | 17 September 2003
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| Deposited in Parliament | 24 September 2003
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| Department | Trade and Industry and Culture, Media and Sport
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| Basis of consideration | EM of 15 October 2003
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | No date set
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| Committee's assessment | Politically important
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| Committee's decision | Cleared, but further information requested
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Background
14.1 "Switch-over" is the migration from analogue to
digital broadcasting of television and radio, starting with the
introduction of digital broadcasting and ending with the switch-off
of analogue broadcasting.
14.2 Digital TV was introduced in 1996 in Europe,
first on satellite and soon after on terrestrial and cable networks.
It was estimated in 2002 that 21% of households in the EU had
digital TV. The estimate for the UK was 44%, higher than in any
other Member State or in the USA.
14.3 Digital terrestrial radio broadcasts started
in 1995 but — except in the UK — few listeners have
yet bought digital receivers.
14.4 The eEurope 2005 Action Plan[33]
requires Member States to publish, by the end of 2003, their intentions
for a possible switch-over.
The document
14.5 The Commission's Communication analyses the
main issues arising from the migration from analogue to digital
broadcasting. It is in three parts:
— The
present EU market situation; the advantages and obstacles to switch-over;
the circumstances in which policy intervention might be justified;
and the criteria for policy interventions.
— The main options facing Member States.
— Spectrum management.
14.6 The Commission's main findings and conclusions
are:
- Each country needs to follow
its own path to switch-over. Ideally, the final analogue switch-off
should take place when digital broadcasting is widespread and
very few analogue homes remain.
- In the longer term, the benefits of digital broadcasting
include new and better services; the release for other uses of
several hundred megahertz when terrestrial analogue TV is switched-off;
increased market competition; and reduced transmission costs.
- On the other hand, in the shorter term, switch-over
will involve substantial costs to users, broadcasters, and equipment
manufacturers. Moreover, while TV and radio broadcasts will be
fully digital one day, it is difficult to say when and how. Switching
off analogue radio would release comparatively little spectrum.
- Market forces should drive the switch-over process.
Intervention by public authorities would be justified only where
general public interests are at stake and market forces alone
would not be sufficient to achieve collective welfare. Intervention
should be transparent and proportionate. It should be based on
clearly defined policy objectives; be the minimum necessary to
achieve the objectives; enhance legal certainty; be neutral between
technologies; and be enforced as closely as possible to the activities
being regulated. Any strong intervention measures should be confined
to the final phase of switch-over, after the industry has made
all possible efforts to increase consumer uptake of digitisation.
- Any contribution to switch-over at the EU-level
should take account of subsidiarity and the peculiarities of national
broadcasting markets and policies. It would not be appropriate
for the EU, for example, to adopt a common target date for analogue
switch-off. But EU-level monitoring and comparison of national
experiences would provide useful information. The Commission will
collect annual data on the EU digital TV market.
- Providing consumers with accurate and timely
information is crucial and should be the responsibility of equipment
manufacturers, retailers and service providers.
- The Commission will propose discussions with
Member States about the spectrum management aspects of the switch-over,
including new allocation and assignment mechanisms; organisation
and timing of migration; and the amount and uses of the spectrum
released at switch-off.
The Government's view
14.7 In their joint Explanatory Memorandum, the Minister
for Energy, E-Commerce and Postal Services, Department of Trade
and Industry (Mr Stephen Timms) and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary
of State for Broadcasting at the Department for Culture, Media
and Sport (Mr Andrew McIntosh) tell us that the Government welcomes
the Commission's Communication and is committed to switching off
analogue TV transmissions in due course; at present, there is
no case for switching off analogue radio services.
14.8 Since January 2002, the Government and the
industry have had a Digital Television Action Plan. Its objective
is to ensure that the criteria set by the Government for switch-over
are met so that Ministers can, if they choose, take the decision
to order the switch-off of terrestrial analogue transmissions
by 2010. The Action Plan is updated quarterly.
14.9 The Government agrees with the Commission that
market forces and consumer demand should drive the switch-over.
Working with the key stakeholders — broadcasters, transmission
network operators, manufacturers, retailers and consumer representatives
— is essential. The Government also agrees with the Commission
that there should not be a common EU switch-off date.
14.10 It is the Government's policy not to favour
one platform (cable, satellite or terrestrial) over another. The
Ministers are not yet persuaded that any particular policy intervention
is necessary. In preparing the options for how and when to switch
off, the Government will test any proposals for intervention against
the criteria for minimising market distortion, taking account
of the social impact of switch-over.
14.11 The Ministers note that the Commission's Communication
does not propose the prohibition of the sale of analogue receivers,
but emphasises the importance of good information for consumers.
The Government is not persuaded that prohibiting the sale of analogue
receivers is a course to pursue in the UK; clear labelling of
television sets is important .
14.12 The Government welcomes the Communication's
proposals for discussions of spectrum management issues and will
take part in them.
14.13 Finally, the Ministers tell us that the Communication
has no financial implications for the UK and that a Regulatory
Impact Assessment has not been produced because the Communication
has no direct regulatory implications.
Conclusion
14.14 We are in no doubt of the potential benefits
of the migration to digital broadcasting. It will be a major undertaking,
affecting every household in the country, with important political,
economic and social implications. We consider that the Commission's
Communication provides valuable information about, and analysis
of, the issues. We welcome the Commission's intention to continue
to monitor and report on the evolution of digital broadcasting
markets and the policies of Member States.
14.15 We are grateful to the Ministers for their
full and helpful Explanatory Memorandum. We should be grateful
to receive from them a copy of the Government's response to the
request in the eEurope 2005 Action Plan for Member States to publish
by the end of 2003 their intentions about the switch-over. Meanwhile,
we clear the document.
33 (23523) COM (02) 263; see HC 152-xxxii (2001-02),
paragraph 18 (12 June 2002). Back
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