Social advantages of digital TV?

dahamsta

[Pardon me for popping in like this, and please feel free to copy me somewhere more appropriate...]

Can someone please explain to me why the Government - Governments worldwide in fact - feel it important to not only encourage, but /mandate/ digital television? What are the social benefits? Pretty pictures and interactive services aside, what's in it for /Ireland/?

I'm probably quite, quite wrong, but I can only see private entity lobbying and brown envelopes here.

adam

John R

I was under the impression that the only reason behind the big push for Digital was that it uses far less bandwith giving the governments more frequencies to flog to telecom companies (or anyone else willing to part with the cash), of course this around the time they all (except Ireland) managed to sell off 3G mobile rights for ridiculous amounts.

The only thing I can see of real advantage in DTT for Ireland is the possibility of a broadband internet service that completely bypasses eircon and their private sector monopoly, although I very much doubt that the government give a fiddlers about that.

Socially digital television could be said to be a bad thing. No matter what way you look at it digital tv costs consumers money, meaning that some will not be able to afford it and excluding the poorest from yet another aspect of society is not beneficial at all.

dahamsta

The only thing I can see of real advantage in DTT for Ireland is the possibility of a broadband internet service that completely bypasses eircon and their private sector monopoly, although I very much doubt that the government give a fiddlers about that.

I doubt they'd have the brains to follow it through to that John R, and I'm actually not being sarcastic when I say that.

Hmmm. So why /are/ they mandating it?

adam