Croatia

[HR] Digital experimental broadcasting

IRIS 2018-1:1/30

Nives Zvonarić

Ministry of Culture, Zagreb, Croatia

In October, the Electronic Media Council issued a Public Call to express interest for digital experimental broadcasting of radio channels in a terrestrial network. The subject of the Public Call is the right to broadcast radio programmes temporary experimentally in DAB+ technology in a single coverage area with 2.16 million inhabitants as potential listeners. The area includes the city of Zagreb and the county of Zagreb, the Krapina-Zagorje County, the Varaždin County and the Međimurje County, as well as parts of the Karlovac County, the Sisak-Moslavina County, the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and the Istrian County. Transmitter locations for DAB+ multiplex are the mountain tops of Sljeme, Ivanščica, Mirkovica and Učka.

The Call was addressed to interested radio broadcasters and radio programme providers that are already enlisted, in accordance with the Electronic Media Act, in the Agency for Electronic Media’s Register of Concessions of TV and/or Radio Service Providers, as well as the Register of Transmission Providers for Satellite, Internet, Cable or other permissible ways of transmission of AV and/or radio programmes.

After a preliminary consideration of the submitted offers and consultations with the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM) and the multiplex operator Transmitters and Communications Ltd. (OiV), applicants were notified by the Agency that the expressed interest exceeded the technical possibilities of multiplexes, in which, for the purpose of experimental broadcasting in DAB + technology, up to sixteen radio channels can be included. The applicants have been asked to declare whether they would participate in the further procedure under the following technical and financial conditions:

1. Participation in the digital experimental broadcasting is possible only for the entire coverage area (as above);

2. For the purposes of testing the system, the OiV will enable a bandwidth of an average of 72 Kb/s in the MUX for a monthly fee of 3.300,00 kn (ca EUR 440);

3. The foreseeable total monthly costs for each individual media services provider are 3.300,00 kn (ca EUR 440), and have to be paid for the entire duration of experimental broadcasting.

The total number of confirmed submissions was higher than the available multiplex capacity and the council evaluated the bids according to the share-in-programme criteria with a view to own production, news and current affairs programmes and Croatian music. On 9 October 2017, the council made its decision on the 16 radio service providers that would simulcast their programmes in analogue and DAB+ technology.

The duration of the experimental broadcasting is one year.