§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the commercial value of the spectrum which will become available following the switch-off of analogue television. [12340]
§ Dr. HowellsThe value of the spectrum will depend on a range of issues including the amount of spectrum that may become available, what the spectrum can be used for and how it might be packaged into licences for an award process, together with prospective licensees' own perception of the value of the resource at the time of award in the context of their business plans. It is not possible to anticipate these issues. However, to help consideration of the spectrum planning issues, we will shortly release a consultation document, as a strand of the Draft Digital Television Action Plan published recently, seeking views on the various ways that the spectrum might be ordered after switch over.