Romania could have a digital terrestrial service distributing up to 15 TV channels up and running by the end of the year.
The news was given by Dan Nica, the communications minister, who quoted by ZF added that such a project could cost between €10-20 million.
He added that he would like the National Radiocommunications Company (SNR), which operates under the name Radiocom, to employ the DVB-T2 standard and for the service to cover up to 70% of Romanian territory within a few months.
Nica is also made clear that the launch of a DTT service would be subject to the finalisation of a strategy by the Competition Council and regulator ANCOM for the transition to digital broadcasting. If this was in place by the end of this month, a DTT service could be up and running by year’s end.
Romania, which has one of the highest cable and DTH penetration rates in CEE, has hitherto lagged behind most other countries in the region in its transition to digital broadcasting.