Broadcasting Act 1996

Standards for transmission systems U.K.

142 Standards for transmission systems. U.K.

(1) The Independent Television Commission (in this section referred to as “the Commission”) shall do all that they can to secure that every licensed service uses a transmission system complying with Article 2 of Council Directive 95/47/EC on the use of standards for the transmission of television signals (“the Directive”).

(2) In this section “Community digital standard” means any of the alternatives permitted within the mandatory parts of the standards to be met by a transmission system for the purpose of complying with Article 2(c) of the Directive (which relates to television services that are fully digital).

(3) The Commission may, after consultation with the persons specified in subsection (6), specify particular Community digital standards to be met in the provision of licensed services which are fully digital.

(4) In deciding whether, and if so how, to exercise their powers under subsection (3), the Commission shall, in particular—

(a) have regard to the desirability of promoting—

(i) mutual technical compatibility between digital television services, and

(ii) the development of digital television broadcasting, and

(b) consider whether it would be reasonably practicable for persons providing licensed services which are fully digital to use transmission systems meeting the Community digital standards in question.

(5) Where the Commission have exercised their powers under subsection (3), they shall—

(a) publish notice of their determination in such manner as they think fit, and

(b) do all that they can to secure that any licensed service which is fully digital uses a transmission system meeting the Community digital standards specified under that subsection.

(6) The persons referred to in subsection (3) are—

(a) every person providing a licensed service,

(b) the BBC,

(c) the Welsh Authority,

(d) the Secretary of State,

(e) the Director General of Telecommunications,

(f) the Director General of Fair Trading,

(g) such persons appearing to them to represent manufacturers of television broadcasting or receiving equipment as they think fit,

(h) such persons appearing to them to represent viewers as they think fit, and

(i) such other persons as they think fit.

(7) In this section—

• “licensed service” means any service licensed by the Commission under Part I of this Act or Part I or II of the 1990 Act or provided under a relevant cable licence, but does not include any service which is only broadcast or transmitted for reception outside the European Economic Area;

• “relevant cable licence” means a relevant licence within the meaning of Part III of Schedule 12 to the 1990 Act (transitional provisions relating to existing cable services).