The two-year pilot programme for Ireland's new digital terrestrial television service has begun, the Minister for Communications, Noel Dempsey, announced today.
The trial will include testing the network's stability, followed by the distribution of set-top boxes to public participants.
The broadcasts will transmit from the Three Rock site in Dublin and the Clermont Carn site in Co Louth. Content will be first provided by radio and TV channels in Ireland, with RTÉ 1, RTÉ2, TV3, TG4, Radio 1(FM), Radio 2, Lyric FM, RnaG and Today FM all signing up. Others may sign up as the trial continues.
Mr Dempsey said he wanted to ensure Ireland kept pace with the high-tech developments taking place across the EU. "A DTT service is capable of providing much more for Irish viewers in the long-term in terms of quality, service and additional channels than an analogue service," he said.
An additional reason driving the pilot programme is the European Commission's proposal to swicth off analogue TV across the region by 2012. "In this context, this pilot plays an important step in informing the development of Ireland's long-term broadcasting strategy," he said.