Announcement imminent over free to view

Responding to rumours of an impending announcement by the Government over free to view broadcasting on digital satellite, Lembit Opik - MP for Montgomeryshire and Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats - said:

"Our current understanding is that customers will be required to pay a one off fee of £22 for a Free To View (FTV) Solus viewing card which will last for two years.

"We have been pressing the Government for months to resolve this problem. While we welcome the fact that a decision now seems imminent, we would have liked to have seen these cards issued for free.

"This decision has been a very long time coming. We hope there's still time for the Government to improve the deal for the viewers but at least this could potentially put an end to the uncertainty. We will continue to press the Government to make a formal announcement on this as soon as possible."