Cable and satellite firms which offer consumers digital television may face an additional competitor here next year - in the form of digital terrestrial television.
The service, which would use RT╔'s transmission network to broadcast a signal, would offer 98 per cent of the population access to about 30 digital channels.
The Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands is currently evaluating a bid by a group of former RT╔ executives to run the digital-terrestrial service in the Republic.
It is understood the consortium, called "It's TV", would also seek to offer consumers a range of interactive services, including what it calls "e-government" and online banking from the television set.
Analysts believe a successful bidder to run the digital terrestrial platform would have to invest millions of pounds to buy programming and market the service to Irish consumers.
In Britain, an equivalent terrestrial service, ITV Digital, which has about 1.2 million subscribers, recently came under serious pressure from its shareholders.
Development of an Irish digital terrestrial television service will begin after the state broadcaster, RT╔, finalises the Government-ordered sell off of its transmission network.
This is expected to be completed before the end of this year. A digital terrestrial service could be up and running towards the end of 2002 or early 2003.
