EU Notes Progress In Digital Transition
While the United States struggles with efforts to switch the country over to digital television signals, the European Union said Tuesday that it "is leading the world in switching from analogue to digital television." The EU government said the transition has been completed in five member states thus far: Germany, Finland, Luxembourg, Sweden and the Netherlands. By 2010 "the process should be well advanced in the whole EU," officials said.
Specifically, the terrestrial TV switch-off is supposed to take place by the end of 2010 or earlier in Austria, Estonia, Denmark, Spain, Malta and Slovenia. The change is set to occur between the end of 2010 and the end of 2012 in Belgium (Wallonia and Brussels capital region), Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Greece, France, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. In Poland the final switch-off date is 2015 at the latest, according to the EU.
"[The European] Commission is working on a common approach on how to use the spectrum released by the digital switchover to achieve the greatest benefits for the single market and its 500 million citizens," a press release said. Japan's switch-off is planned for July 2011, South Korea for the end of 2012, Australia for 2013, and India and Russia for 2015, according to the EU. In the United States, President Barack Obama signed legislation Feb. 12 delaying the DTV switch from Tuesday until June 12. -- Winter Casey
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