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Tuesday 16 June 2009

Digital Britain - more taxation and extra costs

So every telephone line will bear a charge of £6 a year. That's £12 a year for me, why? Why am I being taxed to provide broadband to others? Why should my pensioner neighbours who don't have a computer, and don't want one, have to pay £6 a year to help the government out? The government promise a world class broadband system; 2MB
world class my arse.

Now to the Labour plans for radio in this country. The BBC report it thus:
"Mr Bradshaw told the Commons that the government intended to upgrade all national radio stations from analogue to digital by 2015."
What it actually means is that all existing radios will be useless, my pensioner neighbours will have to buy a new radio; and why? My car, and most people's cars, will need new radios; why should people have to buy new car radios? Apparently the freed-up FM spectrum will be filled by new ultra-local radio stations, comprising small local commercial and community stations. Currently digital radio accounted for 20.1% of radio listening and DAB remains the most popular digital platform, accounting for 12.7% of digital listening. So this most democratic Labour government plan to force the 90% of people who don't listen to their radio via DAB to change their platform. They expect us to replace our home radios, our car radios but hey it's only money; presumably MPs will get their DAB radios FOC.

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