A public consultation has been launched in Italy on the use of the radio spectrum for DAB+ digital radio broadcasting and digital television broadcasting.
The consultation is looking particularly at frequencies allocated for National Television Network no. 12, but never brought into service.
It’s part of the assignment plan being run by regulator Agcom that wants to increase the number of frequencies in the VHF-III band available to local networks for DAB+ digital radio.
The planning is also aimed at assessing whether these frequencies should be used to increase the networks of the National Frequency Allocation Plan (PNAF) DAB, or whether it is more appropriate to postpone the planning of the networks until the Frequency Coordination Agreement in the Adriatic-Ionian Sea area, which is currently under discussion, is signed; in this case, the planning of the supplementary frequencies would now proceed only in the basins affected by a high demand for frequencies for DAB+, higher than the number of available networks.
Aeranti-Corallo. the national association representing 588 local radio and television broadcasters in Italy believes planning for the frequencies should only be carried out in areas where more applications have been submitted than the number of networks planned.
Aeranti-Corallo’s co-ordinator on the topic, Marco Rossignoli, on this topic stated: “Based on the considerations made by Agcom, Aeranti-Corallo believes it is appropriate that, for the moment, we proceed only with the supplementary planning in the areas of Veneto, Tuscany, Lazio, Campania and Puglia.
“The additional available frequencies could be used, once the Adriatic-Ionian Coordination Agreement has been reached, to carry out definitive planning, which eliminates situations of interference between adjacent areas and which, at the same time, can provide, at least partially, a solution to the issue of the possibility of differentiating the digital radio signal (the so-called “split”) between different areas within the same catchment areas”.
Aeranti-Corallo represents 588 local radio and television broadcasters in Italy. Among these, there are also 19 consortium companies and DAB+ network operators.
