by Salahuddin Khan

Created on: November 29, 2008   Last Updated: December 14, 2008

No! As is all too often the case, debates can be ill-worded and debaters then argue past each other with their own different interpretations of the question. Since it's for me a self-evident truth that we have the right to liberty, we have the right, at the very least, to NO TV. Not only is that the case, we actually also have the "right" to a dysfunctional TV if we blindly continue to operate our TV sets when no-one is transmitting a compatible signal. If you agree we have those rights, you can't agree that anyone should be FORCED to do anything with their TV.

If we can accept the foregoing, then the debate as framed, clearly cannot be argued coherently on the "Yes" side.

"OK", you say, "well, the debate proposition was never meant to be interpreted in such a draconian fashion" and I'm inclined to agree, but let's be more rigorous shall we? So, now I'll argue the more appropriate question which would be:

"Should we be required to adopt digital TV reception equipment if we remain interested in watching TV?"

Well, if you put it like that. . .er, No again!

The core principal here is that in the onward march of society, conventions and standards do need to be evolved and enhanced. Yet, rarely, if ever have assets purchased by society's members, had their obsolescence mandated through an act of legislation. True, economic and free market forces could often be relied upon to do just that but it is not the role of government to require it.

Consider the humble radio. The first commercial radios used amplitude modulated (AM) frequencies which became the norm. Later these were added to by frequency modulated signals which are radically different, to give rise to FM reception. The market determined that FM'shad higher quality and so we had AM/FM but few FM-only radios. Both the AM and FM bands were regulated so that radio manufacturers and transmitting stations could manage risk appropriately with their investments but at no time did government take the posture of ruling out a technology. So, lo and behold, my modern car radio and my home reception equipment function perfectly well and we use both bands with nary a concern. Not only that, digital radio cometh and I'm sure I'll be able to replace my radio receiver with a set supporting all forms of transmission when I want to.

Now, I should add that I'd have no objection to the dynamics of free markets (yes, even in today's battered market environment) acheiving what the government seeks to legislate. In short, if the economics

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