§ Captain Bullockasked the Postmaster-General in what areas the B.B.C. Third Programme is obtaining a satisfactory reception; and what steps are being taken to arrange that the Third Programme is relayed to the whole of Great Britain.
§ Mr. Wilfred PalingThe B.B.C. Third Programme can be satisfactorily heard at present by about one-half the population. The transmitter at Droitwich on the wavelength 514.6 metres has a range up to about 80 miles. There are also 23 low power transmitters on the wavelength 203.5 metres affording local reception in London and the following areas:
Aberdeen. Leeds. Belfast. Liverpool. Bournemouth. Manchester. Brighton. Middlesbrough. Bristol. Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Cardiff. Dundee. Plymouth. Edinburgh. Portsmouth and Southampton. Exeter. Glasgow. Preston. Huddersfield. Redruth. Hull. Sheffield. In view of the serious shortage of medium and long wavelengths available for broadcasting in the European Region, it is unlikely that more than slight increases in the coverage area can be obtained at present. Frequency modulation broadcasting on very short waves is expected to provide the long term solution, but it may be some years before the labour 213W and materials are available for transmitters to cover the country generally. Work has, however, started on the apparatus for the first experimental transmitting station for the new system.