More than 70 years of analogue broadcasting in the UK has ended with the complete switchover to digital television.

Anyone still using the original signal lost access to channels at 11.30pm.

The final broadcast was transmitted in Northern Ireland, simultaneously by the BBC and UTV, and fronted by Eamonn Holmes.

It reviewed an era which included the Second World War, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the end of the Soviet Union.

Dame Mary Peters from Belfast, the 1972 Olympic gold medallist in pentathlon, turned the final analogue switch off at a transmitter in the city at around midnight.

Almost any existing analogue TV, even a black and white one, can be converted with the addition of a digital set-top box.

Northern Ireland was the last UK region to make the switch.

Communications regulator Ofcom's chief executive Ed Richards said: "The UK's switchover to digital has been a huge success.

"Not only has it created more TV choice for consumers, it has also freed up vital capacity that will be used to deliver mobile broadband services to 98% of cities, towns and villages across the UK."

The UK's conversion to digital TV began in 2007, with a region-by-region switch off.

The analogue channels have been replaced by over 70 digital channels with new capacity for mobile broadband services.

Mr Richards added: "Now that switchover is complete, Ofcom is looking forward to delivering the 4G auction as the next step in delivering new higher speed mobile broadband services."

Analogue TV broadcasting in the UK extends back to November 2, 1936 when the first public television broadcasting services were launched.

The switchover process began in April 2004 when Ofcom published its blueprint for turning off analogue.


source:uk.news.yahoo.com/analogue-television-signal-switched-off-072714934.html