Romania

[RO] ANCOM launches auction for digital television multiplexes

IRIS 2014-5:1/29

Eugen Cojocariu

Radio Romania International

The Autoritatea Naţională pentru Administrare şi Reglementare în Comunicaţii (Romanian Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications - ANCOM) launched the auction for digital television multiplexes, by publishing on 27 March 2014 the official announcement on the availability for sale of the Terms of Reference (see IRIS 2009-9/26, IRIS 2010-3/34, IRIS 2010-7/32, IRIS 2010-9/35, IRIS 2011-4/33, and IRIS 2013-1/30).

In Romania, the digital switchover shall be completed by 17 June 2015, according 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.

Until 8 May 2014, at 5.00 pm local time, all interested bidders may apply for participation in the competitive selection procedure held by ANCOM for the five multiplexes available for Romania. ANCOM will auction four multiplexes in UHF and one in VHF, in the DVB-T2 standard.

The Terms of Reference can be purchased starting on 27 March 2014, at a price of lei 4,000 (EUR ~895). In order to participate in the auction, applicants have to meet a series of qualification criteria, such as: the applicant must be a Romanian or foreign commercial company; its average turnover for the last 3 years or from the date of establishment must be of minimum EUR 2,000,000; the life duration of the applicant provided in its constitutive act must exceed 17 June 2025; all payment obligations to the state budget, social insurance budgets and special tax funds, contributions etc., as well as obligations towards ANCOM have to be paid in full. Companies belonging to the same group may not apply.

The Auction Commission will assess the application documents and will announce the applicants qualifying for the next stage by 15 May 2014. Also, by 22 May 2014 it will announce whether auction rounds are required or not, depending on the supply/demand ratio. If the demand exceeds the available resources, the auction rounds will start on 5 June 2014.

The competitive selection procedure requires that each bidder submits an initial offer, indicating the number of multiplexes he 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. Where, upon the completion of the primary rounds, no bidder has won some of the multiplexes, ANCOM may decide to organise an additional primary round to which all the bidders qualified in the tender stage may participate.

The multiplexes in the UHF band, except for the multiplex under the free-to-air broadcasting obligation, will be allocated to the winners following the initial offer or the additional rounds, as applicable, by means of an allocation round.

The winner of the first multiplex in UHF will have the obligation to broadcast free-to-air, under transparent, competitive and nondiscriminatory conditions, the public and commercial televisions that are currently broadcast in analogue terrestrial system, in accordance with the provisions of the Audiovisual Law no. 504/2002. According to the digital switchover strategy, this multiplex will have to ensure a coverage, in fixed reception, of 90% of the population and of 80% of the Romanian territory by 31 December 2016, as the only multiplex, out of the five available, bearing such coverage obligations. For the other multiplexes, the operators will have the obligation to launch in operation by 1 May 2017 at least 36 broadcasting stations for each of the networks corresponding to these multiplexes, installed one in each allocation area.

The starting price for each multiplex is EUR 300,000, the minimum licence fee established by the Government. All the multiplexes will be granted for a 10-year period, while the licences will enter into force starting from 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.