Ancom - 2 companii au depus oferte in cadrul licitatiei pentru multiplexurile de televiziune digitala

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2 companii au depus oferte in cadrul licitatiei pentru multiplexurile de televiziune digitala

08.05.2014

Within the procedure for awarding the five digital terrestrial television multiplexes, the Romanian Regulatory Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM)received two bids – from RCS & RDS S.A. and from the National Broadcasting Company S.A.

The auction commission will analyse the application files, will decide and announce the applicants’ qualification to, or rejection from, the further auction stages, by 15 May 2014. The commission will assess the initial bids of the qualified applicants by 22 May 2014.

The competitive selection procedure requires that each bidder submits an initial bid, indicating the number of multiplexes it wishes to purchase. Where the demand exceeds the number of available multiplexes, primary rounds will be organised until the demand no longer exceeds the supply. ANCOM will auction out five multiplexes, four in UHF and one in VHF, in the DVB-T2 standard. The winner of the first multiplex in UHF (MUX 1) will have the obligation to broadcast free-to-air, under transparent, competitive and non-discriminatory conditions, the public and private television stations that are currently broadcast in analogue terrestrial system, in accordance with the provisions of the Audiovisual Law.

Moreover, according to the Strategy elaborated by the Ministry of Information Society, this multiplex will have to ensure a coverage, in fixed reception, of 90% of the population and 80% of the territory by 31 December 2016, being the only multiplex, out of the five available, to bear such coverage obligations. For the other multiplexes (MUX 2, MUX 3, MUX 4 and MUX 5), the operators will have the obligation to launch in operation - by 1 May 2017 - at least 36 emission stations for each of the networks corresponding to these multiplexes, installed one in each allocation area.

The reserve price for each multiplex is EUR300,000 – the minimum licence fee established by the Government, upon ANCOM’s proposal. All the multiplexes will be granted for a 10-year period, while the licences will enter into force starting 17 June 2015. The winners will have the obligation to pay the licence fee no later than 90 calendar days after the result is announced.

In Romania, the digital switch-over shall be completed by 17 June 2015, according to the 2006 Geneva Agreement signed by Romania and to the strategy approved by the Government. On 17 June 2015, all analogue terrestrial broadcasting will be switched off and replaced by the digital terrestrial broadcasting of radio and TV programmes and related multimedia services.