Sir, - I refer to the letter from James Young (December 14th), regarding the licence terms which the Director of Telecommunications Regulation, Etain Doyle, has proposed to cable and MMDS operators to enable them to "roll out" digital television services.
Mr Young's comment that this is first time that the public has been made aware of the Director's plans is not supported by the fact of a long and detailed public consultation process which culminated in the publication of ODTR 98/20 - The Future of Television Transmission in Ireland - The Way Forward, which set out the policy the Director is pursuing.
The exclusivity proposed does not, as Mr Young suggests, exclude television transmission from other platforms such as satellite or terrestrial. Indeed, the Regulator is most anxious to turn her attention quickly to completing work on other platforms so that consumers will have choices in respect of TV delivery.
These intentions have been clear since last July and all documents relevant to this issue are available for perusal on the ODTR website www.odtr.ie - Yours etc., Tara Delaney, Public Affairs Manager, ODTR,
Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1.