The BBC’s proposal to switch off Freeview is a threat to its universal service | Letter

The outgoing director general is right: the threat to BBC universality within the next charter period is very real. The BBC is proposing to switch off digital terrestrial television (DTT, or Freeview) in 2034. This would force all UK homes to take out a high-speed broadband subscription or lose access to BBC services. The era of BBC universality would be at an end. The alternative to such wishful thinking is simple: maintain Freeview – and BBC universality – into the 2040s.