The first stage of Ireland's two-part consultation on the launch of digital-terrestrial television has raised a number of issues over how the country should proceed. Most critically, "strong concerns" have been raised over the extent that BSkyB has "ownership or control" over the proposed platform because of media concentration and potential dominance. The satellite broadcaster has more than 500,000 subscribers in Ireland. The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI), which is charged with licensing the three commercial multiplexes that, along with RTE's public-service multiplex, will comprise the digital-terrestrial platform, was this week due to hold a one-day conference in Dublin to discuss its findings. Despite concerns that BSkyB or cable operator UPC could extend their dominance to the digital-terrestrial platform, the BCI said that stakeholders had confirmed the need for a single "DTT driver or champion", to promote the platform and provide a single point of contact for consumers. Debate this week was also expected to centre on whether the platform should be entirely free-to-air, subscription-based or a hybrid of the two.
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