(18 July 2009 3:45 pm)

MUMBAI: The present economic crisis warrants an acceleratation in the ongoing switchover from analogue to digital TV in Europe.

The switchover would free the radio spectrum being currently used by terrestrial analogue TV for use by new communications and content services.

This process has already been completed in Germany, Finland, Luxembourg, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and in major areas in Austria.

European Union's commissioner for information society and media Viviane Reding made these remarks during a lecture in Brussels.

Reading notes that the Commission estimates that incremental value of this spectrum for wireless broadband across the EU is between €150 and €200 billion.

Appropriate European coordination of Member States' work on the digital dividend would increase the potential economic impact of the digital dividend by an additional € 50 billion between now and 2015.