Ofcom accused of betraying the nation

Union leaders are accusing the regulator Ofcom of virtually betraying the nation when it comes to the grand sell off of the airwaves that will be freed up when the analogue system is totally turned off. These auctions will begin in 2009, but the competition is already hotting up with the big players lining up for a piece of the action.

The president of the union BECTU, Tony Lennon has said that this is one of the nation’s assets and there should be more thought put into how this could be used for the good of the country and not for the industry.

The main problem lies with what happens to the spectrum when it becomes freed up? This is the UHF band and when the digital switch over is completed this will free up around thirty per cent of the band. There is HD and Freeview to consider too, the future of Freeview lies with the development of HD. All of these problems will be ironed before the big sell off.

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