DTT to launch in France next March

DTT services will finally go live in France next March, French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin confirmed this week.

The transmission standard will be MPEG2; a controversial issue: some opponents had lobbied for the MPEG4 standard, which would accomodate High Definition broadcasts in future.

Around fifteen new channels will go live in March, with a further 15 planned for the pay TV element of the service in September 2005.