France could ruin television viewing for thousands of people in southern England by beaming high-powered digital signals across the Channel, a public spending watchdog has warned.
Once the French have achieved digital switchover, scheduled for November 2011, there will be a risk of interference with the digital terrestrial signal in parts of southern England, the National Audit Office (NAO) said.
The programme to replace the UK's existing analogue television network with a fully digital network is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2012.
"On current timetables there is a risk that once France has achieved digital switchover, at present scheduled for November 2011, there may be interference with the current digital terrestrial signal in parts of southern England as a consequence of high-powered digital transmissions from France," the report prepared for the BBC Trust said.
When the southern regions convert to the stronger digital signal they should be unaffected by the French transmissions.
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