Chamber of Deputies approve changes to media law

On the 25th April 2006 the Chamber of Deputies finally approved amendments to the media law which set the legal framework for the introduction of digital broadcasting in the Czech republic.
Voted by 122 out of the 171 deputies, the law still has to be signed by the president. The law lays down rules for the introduction of digitisation which is already underway in the Czech Republic and now ensures that commercial analogue only stations like TV Nova and Prima TV will get digital licences. Apart from the media law, two more policy documents cover the introduction of digitisation. The first is the Technical Plan for Transition, which is to be finalised by the Czech Telecommunications Office (CTU) before the end of the year and clarifies the technical conditions of transitions to digital broadcasting. The other document is the government’s Concept for the Development of Digital Broadcasting in the Czech Republic, which sets deadlines for the scrapping of the analogue signal and announces plans for informational campaigns supporting the introduction of digitisation.
Source: Czech Business weekly
Item added: 4th May 2006