Portugal Telecom has been told that it has won the tender to operate the country’s DTT service, the telco has confirmed. PT had bid for the right to run the public multiplex that will carry four free-to-air channels and a subscription TV service. Its Swedish rival Airplus had been interested in the subscription service alone leaving PT as the sole bidder for the public multiplex.
The preliminary decision is due to be ratified in the next few weeks following a hearing involving interested parties. PT had been boosted in its efforts through the support of the big three channels.
PT has promised to invest €120 million in the development of DTT. The first transmissions are expected to take place next year and will reach 87% of the population by 2012. The licence itself will be valid for 15 years.
