Around 25,000 houses in the Whitehaven area in Western Cumbria are set to be the first to have their analogue TV signals switched off, starting from the 17th of October this year. BBC Two will be the first channel to cease its analogue broadcasting, with the other analogue channels to be switched off on the 14th of November.

At that time the townspeople will need to be able to receive some form of Digital TV, with the rest of the UK to follow by the end of 2012. The changeover process will happen fairly gradually in Whitehaven. Starting from May text on TV channels will remind them about the switchover and when BBC Two stops broadcasting, digital channels will gradually become available until the 14th of November when 18 channels will be available, as opposed to the five currently receivable via analogue.

79% of all UK home currently receive digital television so by the 2010s, when most people switch, hopefully it won't be too much of a hassle.

I think it's a sign of how our country is moving forward into the digital age and how older technologies have little home here, especially with everyone endorsing the Greenhouse Effect, old methods of lighting, generating electricity and now viewing TV will either be gone or far in the minority. I am in favour of the idea.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6453087.stm

I seem to remember, many years ago when this was first suggested, that the government was going to provide set top boxes to those who did not buy a Freeview box before the deadline. That offer seems to have disappeared, but I believe the Americans will get vouchers when they switch to digital, so they can get a free set top box. Its also annoying that pressing the red button with Freeview provides a limited set of services compared to Sky, or cable or anything else. Try looking at the differences in the BBC News pages, for example.