Freeview, the digital terrestrial television service was first introduced nine years ago today. This service allowed viewers to be able to watch a wider range of channels on their television sets, with a one off fee for an adapter. This was a significant improvement from the traditional analogue television services, which contained only five channels; BBC1, BBC2, ITV, Channel Four and Channel 5.
By 24 October 2012 all analogue TV signals in the UK will be switched off, to be replaced with a digital TV signal. This means that everyone will be receiving digital TV through Freeview.
As with residential properties, the switchover will affect many commercial properties. Owners of offices, serviced offices, leisure properties, shops and any other commercial properties where TV equipment is used, will be required to consider the infrastructure that supports their TV equipment.
The switchover in certain regions throughout the UK has already been completed, including; West County, West, Central, Granada, Yorkshire, Border, STV Central and the North.
David Scott, Digital UK chief executive, said: “The analogue era was a defining period for TV but the fully digital age will be even better, with a greater choice of channels for viewers everywhere. I am looking forward to October next year when we will have brought the benefits of digital to every corner of the country.”
It has been reported that a total of 57,345 television sets have been scrapped in Lincolnshire between April and September of this year, driven by the digital switchover. Ian Taylor, environmental services team leader who is responsible for waste, is trying to encourage people to recycle their old TV: “We have seen a huge increase over the summer. People seem to have been getting rid of their old analogue televisions, with some residents bring two, or even three televisions along, which is great for boosting the county’s recycling levels even further. So if you do have an old set, why not bring it along to be recycled into something new?”
It appears that although the most of the old television sets can be upgraded to digital with a freeview digital box, for a small fee, many people are simply replacing their sets. This leads me to believe that the switchover is having a positive impact on the UK’s economy within the retail sector, which will hopefully reduce the number of retail commercial properties closing down, which are currently on the rise throughout the UK.
