http://business.timesonline.co.uk/t...icle1668539.ece
"Ofcom chief tries to calm MPs’ fears on Freeview
Dan Sabbagh and Rebecca O’Connor
Ed Richards, Ofcom’s chief executive, yesterday faced down criticism from MPs calling for the communications regulator to guarantee enough radio spectrum for numerous high-definition channels on Freeview.
His defence came on the same day that Ofcom also sounded the death knell for FM and AM analogue radio under new proposals for digital switchover.
That could mean that national AM services operated by UTV’s TalkSPORT and SMG’s Virgin Radio will be shut down as soon as 2011, while FM services could be forced to go completely digital a year later, after a special review.
The Ofcom boss, answering a question at a joint Select Committee hearing, said that it would be a “soft option” to put guaranteed television spectrum “on the table”. The BBC, ITV and Channel 4 believe that it is necessary to ensure that free-to-air high definition channels are available.
At issue is Ofcom’s decision to reserve no additional spectrum for television once the analogue signal is turned off between 2008 and 2012.
Ofcom wants to sell off the surplus spectrum to the highest bidder, but free-to-air broadcasters fear that they will be outbid by larger telecoms companies.
Lindsay Hoyle, the Labour MP for Chorley, complained that when people bought high-defintion-ready televisions, they were not aware that there was a risk of a “two-tier” service developing, with many high quality pictures available on pay-satellite and cable services but almost nothing on Freeview. Mr Richards also insisted that Ofcom was sticking to a controversial analysis, which said that it would be possible to squeeze “four to six” high-definition channels on to Freeview using the existing allocation of spectrum. That claim has been contested by broadcasters."
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