Digital TV sales may signal early demise of analogue

The Government might be able to turn off the analogue television signal sooner than it had hoped after new figures showed more British households will have digital television than an internet connection by the end of the year.

Statistics released by the Independent Television Commission (ITC) showed that by the end of 2002, 41.4 per cent – about 10 million – of British homes had digital television, either through cable, satellite or the Freeview "digital terrestrial" system. That compared with 42 per cent of homes with internet access. The ITC said there were now believed to be 1.3 million Freeview households in the UK.

Many of those will be watching through defunct ITV Digital set-top boxes. That company went bust, leaving 990,000 people with set-top boxes able to pick up the Freeview channels. Satellite television is still the principal source of digital viewers, with 6.3 million UK subscribers. The rest are connected to cable companies providing a mixture of channels.

The Government is keen for 95 per cent of homes to have digital television, having set that as the point at which it will turn off the analogue signal and perhaps auction those frequencies for other uses.

Initial expectations in the 1990s were this could happen between 2006 and 2010. The failure last year of ITV Digital seemed to have scuppered that timetable but the newer figures show rapid take-up for Freeview, which makes dozens of digital channels available through a £99 set-top box, and may now speed the process.

Internet take-up has slowed, after rocketing from 30 per cent to 45 per cent of British homes during 2001.

It has since reached a plateau and, even though 60 per cent of homes have computers, the number connecting to the internet has not grown so fast. Instead, those with access are switching to faster connections.