More on Romanian DTT

The withdrawal of the recent  DTT tender has been made official by the publication in the Romanian Official Journal of the Government decision no.833/2010 that amended the strategy concerning the transition from analogue terrestrial to digital terrestrial television and the national implementation of digital multimedia services. Ancom said it was not consulted during the government’s decision. As a result of another government decision issued in May, Ancom was carrying out an international tender for granting the licences for the first two DTT multiplexes for which seven companies from Romania and abroad registered. Ancom underlines that by means of the first two tendered multiplexes a reasonable simulcast period was to be ensured, and that deploying the two multiplexes did not require putting a stop to the analogue signal. Ancom has sent notice letters to all seven buyers of the terms of references regarding the need to call off the tenders, also announcing that the authority will return the amounts paid for purchasing the respective terms of references. Furthermore, Ancom expects the issuance within 45 days of the new government decision to establish the digital switchover calendar, as well as the issuance of the other normative acts which will establish the new tender procedure, the manner in which the licences will be granted, as well as the licence fee. The postponement of the digital switchover and, implicitly, of the spectrum release leads to delaying the launch of certain broadband services in Romania and may create the premises for widening the gap between Romania and the other member states of the European Union in broadband internet access services, Ancom warned.
Source: Telecompaper
Item added: 6th September 2010