15 January 2008
Preparations for the digital TV switchover are being made by local authorities and small businesses nationwide.
In the Greater Manchester town of Rochdale, the Boroughwide Housing organisation (RBH) - which looks after sheltered homes in the area - is getting ahead of the game by already installing digital TV in its properties.
The Granada region as a whole faces its old analogue TV signal being switched off in 2009 - by which point the switchover must be complete.
RBH says that it will also be launching a special educational campaign for its disabled and elderly tenants, explaining the benefits of the new service.
Elsewhere in the region, the Blackpool Gazette reports that over half the hotels and B&Bs in the popular tourist resort have installed digital TV for guests.
Talking to the newspaper, Melanie Dobson at Blackpool's Beverley Hotel, said: "We got in early because so many people will leave it till the last minute and may have to wait.
"The switchover has helped us prepare for next year and we hope it will give our customers more."
Organised by Digital UK, the national switchover will see the Borders region become the first to face its analogue signal being turned off later this year.
Over the next four years, the switchover will spread region by region, until the project's completion in 2012.