Who is going to pay for millions of new aerials?

Ofcom's new frequency plan - and their planned digital dividend depends upon many more people having to buy a new TV aerial. So who will pay the bill?

^{Brian Butterworth published on UK Free TV 31st July 2006 at 19:38}

Ofcom's new frequency plan - and their planned digital dividend depends upon many more people having to buy a new TV aerial. So who will pay the bill?

If you receive your analogue TV from one of these transmitters, you will now have to buy a new aerial after the analogue signals are switched off.

The following table lists all the transmitters that will have changed their aerial group after switchover. If you watch your TV from any of the, you will have to pay for a new aerial!

Alderney Ardnadam Bassenthwaite Bovey Tracey Bromsgrove Cefn-Mawr Chesterfield Chideock Clearwell Clennon Valley Compton Coniston Craigkelly Creake Crosthwaite Croyde Douglas (IoM) Dumfries South Flint Foxdale Glencoyne Glenmaye (IoM) Glenridding Glyncorrwg Guildford Haltwhistle

Harbertonford Hawkshead Haydon Bridge Heathfield Hemel Hempsted Holywell Idle Ireshopeburn Kendal Fell Keswick Kimmeragh (IoM) Kings Weston Hill Kirkby Stephen Kirkcudbright Knock More Lark Stoke Les Touillets Llanddona Lorton Margate Millthrop Minnigaff Moffat Mountfield Neath Abbey New Galloway Nottingham

Orton Pinwherry Plympton Port St Mary (IoM) Presteigne Ramsgate Reigate Rumster Forest Sandy Heath Sedbergh Sheffield St. Brelades St. Helier Stroud Sudbury Tacolneston Tenby The Wrekin Torquay Town Totnes Waltham Westwood Windermere Winterborne Stickland Wonersh Workington

The BBC might have to fund set-top boxes for the 'vunerable', but will they have to pay for their aerials now too? (So that will come out of YOUR licence fee).

Is it fair that Ofcom can claim a digital dividend when it is forcing everyone to buy both a Freeview box AND only some people have to buy a brand new wideband aerial?