The European Commission (EC) has published a report on the progress made towards the transition from analogue to digital television in Europe, a process which it considers to be ''on course''. To date, five Member States of the European Union (EU) - Germany, Finland, Holland, Luxemburg and Sweden - have concluded the transition process to digital broadcasting, as well as the Flanders region of Belgium and parts of Austria. The Commission expects that by 2010 the process should be well advanced in the whole EU, culminating in the switch-off of analogue broadcasting in nearly all Member States by 2012.
Besides the countries which have already switched off terrestrial analogue television, by the end of 2010, it will also be switched off in the remaining parts of Austria, in Denmark, Spain, Slovenia, Estonia and Malta. Portugal is included in the group of countries which will close down terrestrial broadcasting between the end of 2010 and the end of 2012. This group also includes Belgium (Wallonia and the Brussels Capital-Region), Bulgaria, Cyprus, Slovakia, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, United Kingdom and Romania. In Poland the switch-off will be delayed until 2015.
Further information:
- EU Member States on course for analogue terrestrial TV switch-off http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/266&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage
