Portugal - Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) in public consultation

Monday, September 3rd, 2007
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The public consultations which cover the process of introducing digital terrestrial television in Portugal are open until 15 October 2007.

These consultations, launched today with a period of 30 working days, cover the following issues:

  • Limitation of the number of rights to use frequencies reserved for digital terrestrial television and the definition of the respective allocation procedure (draft decision);
  • Draft regulation and public tender announcement for the allocation of a nationwide frequency usage right for the digital terrestrial television broadcasting service; and
  • Draft public tender regulation for the allocation of both nationwide and regional frequency usage rights for the digital terrestrial television broadcasting service and the licensing of a distribution operator.

The first two documents were approved by ANACOM by determination of 29 August, under its specific powers.

The draft decision on the number of usage rights for frequencies reserved for the digital terrestrial television broadcasting service and the definition of the respective allocation procedure set out, in particular, the limitation of this number for support of two operations:

a) One right to use frequencies corresponding to coverage of national territory (Multiplexer A), destined primordially for the transmission of television programmes services with non-restricted free access – it is expected that the allocation procedure will be by public tender;

b) Five frequency usage rights, to be allocated to a single undertaking, corresponding to two with coverage of national territory (Multiplexers B and C) and three with partial coverage of national territory (Multiplexers D, E and F), destined for the transmission of television programmes services with non-restricted access – the respective allocation procedure, as legally defined, is by public tender.

The two draft regulations which were simultaneously placed in public consultation and refer to each of these operations were approved by different responsible bodies. While the first – associated with the Multiplexer A – was approved by ANACOM under the above determination, the second – related to Multiplexers B to F – were approved by joint order of 27 August issued by the Minster of Public Works, Transport and Communications and the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. This joint order and the draft regulation concerned were published today in the 2nd series of Diário da República.

Interested parties should make any comments in writing, sending them by email to televisaoterrestre@anacom.pt, clearly indicating which of the documents or issues each of the comments refer to.

Once the consultation process is concluded, the responses received will be published on this website and on the site of the Gabinete de Meios para a Comunicação Social (GMCS) (Media Department). Therefore interested parties should clearly mark items considered as confidential.

For more detailed information, please see the document with the Framework of this consultation process.

Further relevant documents: