Speaking at the International Digital Forum 2011 organized in Bucharest, Vreme said the Communications Ministry has drawn up the normative acts needed for the transition to DTT and is currently waiting for the other ministries involved in the process to approve the respective documents.
In May 2011, communication regulator ANCOM president Catalin Marinescu said the transition to digital land television was taking longer than the regulator expected, adding the normative acts allowing for the process to be started were pending approval.
According to a bill drafted by the ministry and presented in March, the Government wants to grant six DTT licenses, of which one should ensure 60% population coverage and 50% land coverage by March 31, 2012.
The first multiplex licensee will be required to carry public national free-to-air TV channels, and meet certain land and population coverage targets: 60% of population and 50% of land, by March 31, 2012; 80% and 70%, respectively, by January 1, 2013; 90% and 80%, respectively, by December 31, 2014. This multiplex will run concurrently with analog terrestrial television services during the period of transition, due to end on January 1, 2013, says the draft government decision.
The other five licenses will be awarded through a selection process organized by telecom regulator ANCOM, as follows: one license before January 1, 2013; three more after January 1, 2013; the last one after June 17, 2015, once analog TV broadcasting has ceased.
The multiplexes will allow the broadcasting/rebroadcasting of at least seven television stations in standard definition (SD), or a combination of SD and high definition (HD) stations, as well as multimedia services. Should regional/local multiplexes remain available following the transition, they will be licensed through an ANCOM procedure.