DTT National Information Campaign - March 2009 ???

The Cush

Last July as he annonced the end of the DTT Trial and the award of the multiplex contracts to Boxer, the Minister stated that his Department would begin a national information campaign in March 2009, in advance of the autumn 2009 launch date.

National rollout and Government information campaign

“Central to the success of national rollout will be a public information campaign by the Department explaining digital television to the nation. My Department will begin this national information campaign in March 2009, in advance of the autumn 2009 launch date. Analogue switch-off must be complete by 2012.

We have a tight timeframe but I am confident that with all players working together and with public buy-in that digital television in Ireland will offer new and exciting content and technology to the Irish viewer”, concluded Minister Ryan.

March has come and gone and nothing on the information campaign. Maybe this is due to Boxer's failure to sign the BCI and RTENL contracts?
Scath posted earlier that Boxer is mentioned in a new brochure published by RTENL - Receiving Digital Terrestrial Television, "so one could maybe assume that Boxer has returned contracts now"?

Thursdays Irish Times published an article regarding a presentation to the Oireachtas Communications Committee on Wednesday by TVAccess, a coalition of organisations in the disability and ageing sector, telling the committee of the need to start the a campaign to highlight the switch from analogue to digital television broadcast services early to “make sure the most vulnerable and hard to reach don’t get left behind”. The full presentation can be found here.

Campaign on move to digital TV urged
LUKE CASSIDY

Thu, Apr 02, 2009

A CAMPAIGN to highlight the switch from analogue to digital television broadcast services needs to be implemented immediately, an Oireachtas Communications Committee heard yesterday.

TVAccess, a coalition of organisations in the disability and ageing sector, told the committee of the need to start the campaign early to “make sure the most vulnerable and hard to reach don’t get left behind”.

Under EU rules all televisions in the State will have to make the switch from analogue to digital by 2012. The roll-out of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) is scheduled to begin later this year and all analogue signals will be switched off on January 1st, 2012.

Dr Mark Magennis from the National Council of the Blind Ireland (NCBI) told the committee of the threat of social exclusion facing the elderly and disabled by the switchover.

He said the “lack of subtitles and sign language, lack of easy-to-use remote controls for people with dexterity issues, inaccessible customer equipment and the extra costs associated with switching” were all reasons people could become socially excluded.

“In these times of economic problems it is going to be very important to do this cost-effectively so we don’t end up in 2012 with a bunch of people who still haven’t been able to make the switch.

Joan O’Donnell of the Disability Federation of Ireland told the committee that the Government needs to look at the switchover as “a broad social issue”. She said as people get older there is a higher incidence of disability, “especially sensory” and that the Government needs to ensure they are included in the roll-out scheme.

© 2009 The Irish Times

scath

The Info Campaign hasn't been finalised as of end of March is the response I got from the Dept to the when its going live.I guess money has to be found for it together with a switchover package for groups like those on social welfare etc and some clarity from the pay DTT process. That means the BCI, setting a deadline for contract signing or retender.