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The problem with leading the world is that you meet all the pitfalls first.
Hence Britain’s pioneering digital TV system may soon land the government with a
huge bill. Research by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport shows that
nearly half of Britons will either refuse to convert to digital or be unable to
afford it. So if culture minister Chris Smith, or his successor, wants to switch
off analogue transmissions by 2010, they will have to meet the cost of
converting households that haven’t yet switched. “In six or seven years’ time a
converter box should cost £20…