Romania

[RO] A new step for the TV digital switchover in Romania

IRIS 2019-4:1/30

Eugen Cojocariu

Radio Romania International

On 22 February 2019, the Societatea Naţională de Radiocomunicaţii S.A. (National Radiocommunications Society S.A. - RADIOCOM), a company that is part of the portfolio of the Ministry of Communications and Information Society (MCSI), signed the contract for the provision of the broadcasting equipment necessary for the implementation of the Multiplex 1 national network on which the public television stations will be broadcast (see IRIS 2009-9/26, IRIS 2010-3/34, IRIS 2010-7/32, IRIS 2010-9/35, IRIS 2011-4/33, IRIS 2013-5/38, IRIS 2013-6/30, IRIS 2014-4/26, IRIS 2014-5/29, IRIS 2014-9/27, IRIS 2015-5/33, IRIS 2016-2/26, IRIS 2017-1/29, IRIS 2019-2/23).

The Minister of Communications and Information Society, Alexandru Petrescu, highlighted that the signing of this contract would mark the beginning of the implementation of the digitisation of terrestrial television in Romania, offering consumers a major benefit through access to higher quality services. He also insisted that, for RADIOCOM, the implementation of the digital terrestrial television at national level represented a new stage of modernisation in terms of increasing the competitiveness and diversification of broadcasting services.

The digital terrestrial television project will be deployed in 228 broadcast stations and will allow for the free-to-air reception of national television broadcaster programmes by approximately 94% of Romania's population.

This contract, amounting to LEI 59 371 706 excluding VAT (approximately EUR 12.5 million), represents the digital terrestrial television project’s first acquisition. The financing of the entire project is ensured both by external sources — the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Alpha Bank Romania — as well as by RADIOCOM's own sources.

RADIOCOM is the national operator that, according to the licence, has provided the taking over, transport and broadcasting of public television programmes in digital terrestrial format since 17 June 2015, as a transitional solution.