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Digital TV future being twice discussed in capital today

THE chances of television channels being set up to serve a relatively small audience, for instance a local community, is likely to be on the agenda today at meetings being hosted by broadcasting regulators, Ofcom.

The organisation’s Scottish head, Vicki Nash, is speaking this afternoon at the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and then heads off to the Scottish Parliament for a similar, evening event.

She is being joined by technical staff from Ofcom, plus various other speakers, including Dave Rushton, a director of the Institute of Local Television.

It all stems from the fact that the TV broadcasting spectrum will be able to accommodate more TV channel signals when analogue channels are got rid of, starting next year in the Borders, and replaced by digital signals.

That has prompted a ‘digital dividend review’ by Ofcom, today’s two events being part of a consultation process and which will be attended, variously, by local authority representatives and MSPs, plus interested technical and communications folk, such as from mobile telephone companies.