Welsh villages lose analogue services

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By John Oates • Get more from this author

Posted in Bootnotes, 30th March 2005 10:59 GMT

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Two villages in Wales are the first in the UK to lose their analogue TV signal - it was switched off early this morning. The government has been running a trial since November to see how people react to the changeover.

If the people of Ferryside and Llansteffan are anything to go by all the government needs to do is give everyone a free Freeview box and they'll be happy to change. Analogue broadcasting is expected to be switched off across the country in 2012.

The 450 households were given set-top boxes in November last year and a helpline set up to offer technical advice. The vast majority of people installed the boxes themselves but there was one-to-one support available for older residents. Almost everyone, 98 per cent of the 85 per cent who responded, wanted to keep the digital services.

Previously the two villages, just south of Carmarthen, had access to four basic channels, on a weak signal, but not Channel Five.

Thanks to the online Welsh dictionary provided by the University of Wales, Lampeter here.