Spanish consumer to bear cost of second ‘Digital Dividend’

Iñaki Ferreras | 05-09-2012

Spain’s new ‘Digital Dividend’ Plan, which will force uses to change aerials to receive DTT services, will cost consumers €300 million the country’s Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism Jose Manuel Soria has confirmed.

Yet the minister added that the cost of the new Digital Dividend Plan will significantly reduce over 900 million euros of the previous. The plan involves relocation of television channels so that mobile operators can use channels’ radio spectrum for 4G services.

The minister said that unlike the previous plan for private TV operators, six multiplex channels will still be available for TV users. In addition, there will now be ten public digital channels in total, five private multiplex channels, two multiplexes will be public and one will serve as a backup for the Spanish public television can also emit high definition.

Telecom operators will now be able to use the spectrum from 1 January 2014, one year earlier than in the previous plan, which means that implementation of new aerials must be completed by that date in order to receive all programming television. Soria also approved a new DTT technical plan.

Yet the Users Association of Communication (AUC), the Association of Viewers and Listeners (ATR) and the association FACUA-Consumers in Action on Monday criticised the plans for the way in which the cost burden will hit users.