Ryan MacMillan

I like to think of Ofcom as something of a WAG - it looks for whoever is going to give it the most money and then wears a short skirt near it. May I present Exhibit A: DAB (Digital Radio). Why do you think it is that we, unlike any other country in the world, have adopted this technology so completely? Well, its simple: Auntie Beeb. She just loves a bit of digital. And, as The BBC were pumping a lot of our TV license money in to opening digital radio channels Ofcom dutifully got right behind the technology.

So, it comes as no surprise that as Digital Switchover begins Ofcom’s thoughts have turned to what to do with the distinctly desireable 112MHz spectrum that normal TV will be leaving in its wake. Its a three horse race between the Mobile Phone, Internet and HDTV sectors as to who will win and it’ll come as no surprise that the winner will be the industry willing to hurl the most money at it.

The irony, gentle reader, is that regardless of who wins out in the end, the result will be the same: we’ll get more video. This is because you can bet your neighbours house that whichever sector gets the greenlight they’ll use it to stream video be it to a mobile phone, a computer or a TV (in high-definition).

So as Britian continues to get fatter it certainly isn’t the individual’s fault - it’s Ofcom’s for giving us more excuses to sit on our swollen posteriors gorging ourselves on TV when we should be out exercising.