The European Investment Bank (EIB) has announced it is lending the Romanian public company Radiocom €9.78 million to partially finance the digitisation of the country’s terrestrial broadcasting infrastructure.
It adds that the transaction is backed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the financial pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe, or “Juncker Plan”.
The project supports the rollout of a digital TV broadcasting network based on the DVB-T2 standard. It will result in 228 broadcasting sites reaching 94% of the population and 81% of the country with FTA TV signals.
Commenting on the development, EIB VP Andrew McDowell said: “The EIB loan will finance the digitalisation of public terrestrial broadcasting in line with national and European policies, supporting the transition of TV to digital broadcasting. This will facilitate the development of the information society to benefit the people of Romania.”
EC Commissioner for regional policy Corina Cretu added: “With this new agreement, the Juncker Plan is making a very visible difference to the everyday lives of Romanians by bringing better quality TV into their homes. I am very proud of this new EFSI project and I can only encourage Romania to make more use of the great opportunities offered by the Juncker Plan for growth and jobs in the country but also to improve people’s quality of life.”
CEO of Radiocom Eugen Brad stated: “The EIB financing will enable the implementation of digital terrestrial television in Romania, a unique opportunity to expand the audiovisual industry, viewed from the perspective of the image quality of television programmes provided through electronic communications networks, and their interactivity in relation to the requirements of the beneficiaries (citizens) of these services. Radiocom’s transition project is one of the strategic objectives of our company that will ensure respect for the right to information of the Romanian population and will also strengthen our company’s position in the digital terrestrial television market.”
