§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which television channels are subject to a must-carry requirement on(a) digital satellite, (b) digital terrestrial and (c) digital cable. [38956]
§ Dr. HowellsNo television channels are, in practice, subject to a must-carry requirement.
For satellite, access is a matter of commercial negotiation, and is regulated by Oftel under the Advanced Television Services Regulations 1996 (SI 1996/3151), as amended by SI 1996/3197.
In the case of digital services carried by cable, the ITC can, under section 78A of the Broadcasting Act 1990 (as amended), require digital local delivery services to carry public service television channels; but has not considered it appropriate to do so.
In the case of digital terrestrial television, provision exists in section 28 of the 1996 Act, and through the allocation of radio spectrum by the Secretary of State under section 65 of the 1990 Act and section 6 of the 1996 Act, by which sufficient space is reserved on multiplexes for the carriage of public service channels.
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§ Nick HarveyTo ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) what her Department's timetable is for the upgrading of digital television transmitters to widen the distribution of digital television services; [39405]
(2) when the Government plan to allow the upgrading of transmitters in west Yorkshire. [39406]
§ Dr. HowellsThe Digital Television Action Plan, issued on 20 December, sets out a series of actions, with intended completion dates, for Government and stakeholders collectively to determine and agree a target level of coverage for digital terrestrial television and to produce a plan to achieve this. We commenced a three-month consultation on 11 December to inform the spectrum planning process. It is for the digital broadcasters to determine proposals to develop the digital terrestrial transmission network, in consultation with the Independent Television Commission and the Radiocommunications Agency.