§ Mr. Wigleyasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether it is the Government's intention to seek to obtain a European standard for citizens band radio; and if he will list the alternative systems which could form the basis of such a European standard, indicating which is the Government's preferred option.
§ Mr. ButcherThe Government's preferred option, and indeed the often stated intention, for CB is to adopt the CEPT recommendation which provides for common European frequencies at 26.96 MHz—27.40 MHz for an FM only service. My Department has been consulting existing users of the band about appropriate transitional arrangements and I have already announced that 1987 is the earliest realistic target date for the start of the new CB service.