Dear Sirs,

Please excuse the lateness of this e mail.

I would like to address the problem of Digital Television in Wales acessed from the Freeview platform.

BBC Wales have introduced a service that broadcasts on BBC 2 they call it 2W.  When it is on air which can be anytime from 7.00pm to 10.30 pm, local programmes are broadcast varying from trashy soaps to the local news etc. The majority of the programmes are either repeats or are repeated on BBC 1 in Wales or on BBC 2 analogue.  The service runs from Monday to Friday.

When 2W is being broadcast the viewer using the Freeview platform will not be able to recieve BBC2 unless they go back to the annalogue transmission.

The BBC in Wales constantly keeps advertising 2W but omits to tell the prospective viewer that he or she if they opt for Freeview  they will have to revert to analogue to receive programmes like "Gardners World".

I gather that two villages near where I live in Carmarthen have been chosen as an experiment for analogue switch off.  If the residents opt for Freeview they will no longer receive BBC2  but will receive this 2W service, so depriving them of programmes that they may well love.

 I do not like the way that this 2W service is promoted.  The problem of the full BBC TV service in Wales has not been addressed.  We are continually subjected to regional imposition, many programmes are shown later. Many things that are offered on the Freeview digital platform to other viewers in the UK  but in Wales these functions are not able to be used or acessed.

When the matter is raised, the subject is brushed under the carpet or the explanation runs not enough capacity on Digital Terrestrial.

One other thing that concerns me is if this service ceases does it mean or will it mean that a BBC region i.e. Wales/Scotland/N Ireland will be allowed to dump their programmes onto other digital networks (BBC 3/BBC 4) so that the viewer is inconvenienced due to programmes being shown later and later.

Surely there has to be a solution to this problem of regional broadcasting.  There seems to be a channel called the Comunity Channel on Freeview this channel is only available from 3.00 am to 5.00 am surely this channel could be used for regional broadcasters. I gather that the BBC look after this channel.

I look forward to hearing from you

Yours etc
Stephen Robbins