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Britain has made a U-turn in its policy on satellite TV in defiance
of the European Commission. Brussels wants a directive to force all European
satellite broadcasters to use the MACTV standard (Technology, 15 June).
Britain is now defending the older PAL system.

Five years ago the government insisted that Britain’s national satellite
operator, BSB, use the MAC system. MAC can be easily upgraded to Europe’s
high-definition system, called HD-MAC. Plagued by financial problems, BSB
merged with Sky to form BSkyB, which adopted Sky’s PAL transmitters.

John Redwood, the DTI minister responsible for telecommunications, now
says he ‘sees no merit’ in the Commission’s plan and predicts that it will
‘alienate broadcasters, impose unnecessary costs on consumers and depress
the market for satellite broadcasting’.

Redwood advocates maintaining PAL until all-digital high-definition
systems are ready in about 10 years’ time.