The Earl of Bradfordasked Her Majesty's Government:
What steps are being taken to ensure that dwellers in rural areas and those in conurbations have equal access to the cable network; and
What are the figures for the numbers, expressed as a percentage, of households in rural areas that will be able to receive cable by the year 2000.
§ The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Fraser of Carmyllie)The Local Delivery Operator franchises awarded by the Independent Television Commission under the Broadcasting Act 1990 are intended to encourage operators to use alternative technology, including radio delivery, in order to make services available to less accessible areas, including rural ones. As the programme of awarding these franchises is still proceeding it is not currently possible to give an accurate indication of the percentage of rural homes that will be able to receive cable by the year 2000.
From April 1994 national PTOs (including BT and Mercury) have been able to apply in their own right for 119WA new LDO franchises for local broadcasting services, testing technologies alongside their existing services, making use of the same infrastructure where possible. (Cm 2734, Creating the Superhighways of the Future, November 1994).