Data Channel (Caroline Era)

A data channel is a means of broadcasting information over a UHF television-style channel which is of a similar format to HDTV combined with Teletext.

History
The initial bandwidth of teletext was up to 150 kilobaud, allowing the transmission of approximately 21K of text per second. This doubled in 1982 with the introduction of HDTV. Several years later, the Open Broadcasting Association started a second channel which was entirely oriented towards broadcasting data, with a bandwidth of around 12 megabytes of data per second. This is available to a number of public services and can be bought into for a small fee. It contains text and a special vector graphics language, and is used by domestic computers and the '''Guide. However, it is not used for electronic newspapers '''because it is a condition that all information broadcast on it must be free at the point of use and it was considered a state monopoly on information.