Town ready for digital deadline

Anyone struggling to use equipment can visit Digital UK help centres

Most of Whitehaven's residents are prepared for the final switchover to digital television, according to industry research.

The West Cumbrian town pioneered the UK's digital revolution in October when its BBC2 signal was turned off.

The remaining signals will go from 14 November, when 25,000 households will need Freeview, satellite, cable or broadband in order to watch television.

Digital UK said only a few hundred people had yet to convert.

Early on 17 October, engineers spent 37 minutes switching off the analogue signal on BBC Two and switching on digital versions of BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, CBBC, BBC News 24 and Five.

The other analogue channels will follow suit in a week's time.

The majority of households, with a few exceptions, are ready for the landmark day, according John Askew from Digital UK.

Required equipment

He said: "We're quietly confident the switchover will go smoothly and I'd like to pay tribute to the thousands of residents who went out and bought the required equipment.

"However, there are a small number of people who haven't done anything yet. Some may have bought the equipment, but need help plugging it in and getting it to work.

"If so, now's the time to do it because there's only a week of analogue television left."

Anyone having problems can visit the company's help centres in Whitehaven, Egremont, Cleator Moor and Seascale, he added.

About 84% of households across the rest of the UK have already installed digital equipment, according to media watchdog Ofcom.