Croatian broadcasters and telcos are wary of making any new investments before 2020.
Speaking at a forum on the future of the UHF band, organised by HAKOM and quoted by Poslovni, Zeliko Tabakovic, the regulator’s assistant director, said that the switch to DVB-T2 would require significant funding by all parties concerned.
Research by HAKOM suggests that 1.2 million TV viewers will have to buy either DVB-T2 boxes or new sets. Given that boxes currently cost HRK250 (€32.40), this will represent a total outlay of HRK300 million.
Furthermore, 11 of 13 broadcasters questioned by the regulator said that they plan to migrate to HD with the 720p standard in the next five years.
Publicly owned HTV expects to invest HRK100 million and the commercial stations RTL HRK5 million, Nova TV over HRK1 million and others HRK3-4 million.
Meanwhile, mobile operators say that after have bought the first dividend they do not want to invest in the second one before 2020.
For its part, HAKOM says that the migration to DVB-T2 will happen around 2020.
It adds that a decision on the frequencies used by the first and second DTT multiplexes will be political in nature.
HAKOM points out that Sweden, Finland, Germany and France are rushing to the award the digital dividend and switch to DVB-T2 while the UK plans to do so in 2020.
