By Becky H
There are two big events scheduled for 2012 in the UK. The first one is the Olympic Games and the second is…? Here’s a clue: it started last year and will almost definitely affect you personally.
Still nothing? Well, you’re not alone. Almost half of UK consumers did not know that our good old analogue TV signal will be switched off in 2012 according to the results of a recent survey by MoneySupermarket.com which we saw yesterday.
It seems amazing to the team at Hotwire that this can possibly be true. Working in technology and with clients in this space, it sometimes feels as if we have been talking about the switchover for years already!
There’s no shame in not knowing the intricacies of the digital switchover. We appreciate that most people won’t ever need to know that the switchover to digital is vital to free up radio spectrum for new wireless services and technologies. We’re even more aware that ‘everyman’ will not necessarily want to know the minutiae of those behind the scenes – the infrastructure providers, test and measurement companies, signal assurance businesses or performance management providers. You don’t need to know everything about every service in order to use it.
No, the switchover will be deemed to have been a success when everyone in the UK switches on the TV in 2012 and…it just works. Seamlessly and as simply as flicking on a light switch, and all because of the range of service providers, test and measurement firms, service assurance providers and many more, have all been diligently working behind the scenes to make it happen. While confident that this will be the case from a technical point of view, there are two sides to every story.
From a PR point of view, the real shame, and threat to a successful switchover, is that these backstage contributors are leaving a very obvious space upstage in the spotlight. That vacancy is glaringly evident when reading headlines like, ‘UK still in the dark about digital switchover’ two years into the process.
As someone once sang, “this is your moment”. There is a huge opportunity for businesses involved to raise awareness of the process, educate the potential users and propel themselves into the spotlight. The real question is who will switch on to this opportunity first?
