24. 05. 2013

COMPETITION FOR FREQUENCY SLOWS DIGITALIZATION

Belgrade, May 24, 2013 (Danas) - Transition to digital broadcasting of TV programs has been completed in 21 countries in Europe, but is much in delay in Serbia. One of the biggest problems of the digitalization process is the lack of frequencies for network testing.

Although the former TV Avala's frequency is deemed necessary for the digitalization, without which the entire process would be significantly slowed down, the competition for allocation of this frequency has been called nevertheless.

ETV and RATEL were of the opinion that the frequency should not be allocated at all, since it was needed for the digitalization. By calling the public competition for allocation of the frequency, it could not be used in the preparation of the full digitalization, which would significantly slow the process down and the deadline June 17, 2015 was jeopardized.

The assistant minister of trade and telecommunications Nebojsa Vasiljevic told the daily Danas that this ministry had notified the ministry of culture of the necessity to call the competition for allocation of the said frequency in a letter dated April 19, which said that the "RBA was in legal obligation to call the competition for allocating the frequency under the circumstances".

The Deputy Chairman of the RBA Council Goran Karadzic explains that the RBA demanded that the frequency be put to competition to improve program offer, as it was foreseen when it was first allocated to TV Avala. He does not see the reason not to do it again.

On the other hand, RATEL Director Milan Jankovic says the competition has slowed down the entire process of digitalization as this frequency could be used for coverage of at least 70 percent of the territory of Serbia with digital signal by the end of 2013. This could mean that the entire process of digitalization could be finished by the end of this year, instead of implementing it in phases by the summer of 2015.

No one has applied yet for the frequency that was formerly used by the TV Avala. The deadline for sending the applications is in two months, and the largest number of applications is expected in the last couple of days of the call.