UK households could need broadband and new devices to keep watching TV
Key Points
- Aerial-only homes may need broadband and new devices to keep watching TV
- Some 880,000 households unable to access IPTV without suitable broadband in 2034
- Government estimates £1.6 billion social cost of broadband, £125 million for devices (2034 option)
- 92% of DTT-reliant homes without broadband headed by over-55s
- 58% in two lowest socioeconomic bands; 41% include a disabled person
- Government says no assumption public funding will be available
Households that currently watch television through an aerial could be required to take out broadband subscriptions and buy new equipment to keep watching, under government plans to move British television onto the Internet.
The media green paper, which proposes switching off the Freeview signal in either 2034 or 2044, acknowledges that a significant number of homes rely on digital terrestrial television as their only means of access.
Moving to internet protocol television (IPTV) would require those households to have a reliable broadband connection and an internet-capable device.
According to figures in the paper, around 880,000 households would be unable to access IPTV without a suitable broadband subscription at the point of a 2034 switch-off.
The government estimates the social cost of broadband for households without it at around £1.6 billion under the 2034 option, alongside a further £125 million for IPTV devices for homes that lack them.
The paper draws on research by the University of Exeter showing that those most reliant on Freeview are disproportionately older, poorer and disabled.
Of DTT-reliant households without broadband, 92% were headed by someone over 55, 58% fell within the two lowest socioeconomic bands, and 41% included a person with a disability.
The government said a structured support package will be needed to help audiences move across “smoothly and with confidence,” potentially including low-cost social broadband tariffs, simple plug-in devices with no ongoing fees, and digital skills training.
It points to the 2008 to 2012 digital switchover as a precedent for large-scale public support.
However, the paper cautions that “no assumption should be made at this stage that public funding will be available to support a transition,” and instead calls on industry to propose and fund solutions.
The government has asked broadcasters, telecoms firms, manufacturers and charities to come forward with plans through the consultation.
