Whitehaven repeat may be ruled out

The body responsible for digital switchover is considering turning off the analogue signal for all the UK's terrestrial channels in one go instead of continuing with the existing two-stage process.

Digital UK said there had been mixed feelings in Whitehaven, the Cumbrian town where the five-year switchover project began in October, about the decision to switch off BBC2's analogue signal four weeks ahead of the other terrestrial channels. The switchover body said the process had created confusion for some people and had forced viewers to "toggle" between analogue and digital services to access all channels during the transition period.

Some 49% of respondents to a survey in the Whitehaven area said they would have preferred a single switchoff date. Just 23% favoured the way it had happened, with another 28% neutral. Digital UK has decided to reduce the transition period to 14 days for the switchover of the Selkirk transmitter in the Scottish Border region in November, and for two transmitters in the West Country region that will be switched in spring next year.

"We are considering whether it is appropriate to similarly adopt 14 day transition periods at other transmission sites, and whether in some regions with high DTT [digital terrestrial television] coverage a single switchover might be possible," the organisation said in a report on the Whitehaven experiment published today. But Digital UK urged caution, pointing out that for older or vulnerable consumers the "grace period" offered by the two-stage process had been beneficial.

Digital UK identified three other "areas for review" following the Whitehaven switchover, which saw 25,000 homes in the area of the Copeland transmitter in Cumbria lose their analogue TV signal. The body said some viewers in Whitehaven had been disappointed that they were receiving just 20 digital terrestrial TV channels, not the full complement of 40 offered by Freeview in other areas of the country. This will be the case for the 10% of the UK's households that will not be able to receive all three of Freeview's commercial multiplexes.

Digital UK also identified problems for viewers in rented accommodation, with one housing association in the Whitehaven area imposing a £24 surcharge for upgrading a communal TV system. And the organisation said it had encountered some "misunderstanding" about the targeted help scheme, which allows the over-75s, disabled people and blind people to apply for help in choosing and installing digital equipment. The scheme costs £40 per household but is free to those on income support.

As MediaGuardian.co.uk reported earlier this year, only a third of people in Whitehaven eligible for assistance accepted help from the programme. David Sinclair, the head of policy at the charity Help the Aged, said take-up of support and advice in Whitehaven had been "nowhere near high enough".

"The report highlights evidence of confusion by consumers over who would receive free help or how someone would benefit from paying the £40 fee for support," Sinclair added. "This confusion probably contributed to fewer older people having the help that would benefit them. Lessons must be learned here to ensure that all vulnerable older people receive the help they need."