Radio microphone – used under CC licence. Click to see source.

The vast majority of the UK’s radio microphones will become unusable as part of the ‘digital switchover’ plans according to a new campaign launched in November 2009. The Save our Sound UK (SOS UK) campaign brings together more than 20 organisations from the arts and entertainment sector and is lobbying against Government plans to sell off 15 of the 8MHz frequency bands that carry analogue television channels and which are planned to be sold once their use for this purpose is finished. Amongst these channels there are gaps that are used as buffer zones between television broadcasts and these are commonly used by radio microphones.  SOS UK says that the proposed change may have a dramatic effect in that most radio microphones and some in-ear systems will be affected and may even be classified as illegal devices.

For more details please read the original SOS UK press release (PDF file) or visit the campaign’s website.

Also see:

a  Telecoms.com news item published on the 17 November 2009

and a 2007 BBC News story on this issue.