DIGITAL TV is scheduled to be introduced throughout Prestwich and Whitefield in 2009.

Dates for the switchover to digital-only television have been announced by the Government and will take place between 2008 and 2012 by ITV region.

Granada, which serves the Bury area and others across the North West, will introduce digital TV in four year's time.

The Government wants all UK households to benefit from digital TV. The key to this is ensuring that everyone has a choice of digital TV options that they can afford. This can only be achieved through a universal switchover from analogue to digital signals.

A support scheme to make sure that no-one is left behind in the switch has also been announced. The Government will provide help with equipment and installation and follow-up support for people aged 75 and over and those with significant disabilities. The scheme will be funded by the BBC through the licence fee.

Already, 63 per cent of UK households have digital television and more than two million households have switched in the last 12 months, an increase of 18.4 per cent on the previous year.