ComReg plans to issue RTÉ with a licence by the middle of next year to operate a digital terrestrial television (DTT) multiplex. Ciarán Hancock, Business Affairs Correspondent, reports.
The regulator will also issue three licences to the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI), which will be charged with holding a competition for other potential DTT operators.
ComReg said the licences would have 12-year terms and carry an annual fee of €114,000. A 50 per cent discount on that fee will apply until July 2012.
The BCI said it would hold a "stakeholder consultation" on November 22nd at the Westin Hotel in Dublin to help it formulate its policy for the issuing of the licences. Its policy is likely to be published in December or January.
The licences being issued by the BCI should attract significant interest. Liberty Global, the parent company of UPC Ireland, which owns NTL and Chorus, confirmed that it would apply for a licence but was critical of the process.
"We think this represents a huge over-allocation of spectrum to carry out DTT," said Shane O'Neill, Liberty Global's chief strategy officer. Mr O'Neill also said the licence fees being proposed were "way too low", especially compared to other markets.
DTT will replace the current analogue signals. It can carry more content and allow viewers to access additional content and to interact with programming.
