Bulgaria’s Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTITC) has confirmed that analogue switch off in the country will take place on September 1, 2013.
It has also said that the state will cover much of the cost of digital TV decoders for the most needy members of the population.
In a statement, the Ministry refers to a draft plan on the introduction of DVB-T broadcasting and adds that BNG17.5 million (€8.9 million) of the state budget for this year has been allocated for decoders and an information campaign.
The plan envisages that by March 1, 2013, when simulcasting starts, 95% of the population will be able to receive commercial and public DTT services.
A further commercial multiplex, reaching 85% of households, will be up and running by the time ASO takes place.
The transition to digital broadcasting in Bulgaria has been mired in controversy and the country now faces legal action by the EC over licence awards in 2009 for a total of six multiplexes to Latvia’s Hannu Pro and Slovakia’s Towercom.
