Spanish broadcasters finally have until 2024 to switch to HD broadcasting
Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) channels can continue to be viewed in low definition for another year. Yesterday, the Council of Ministers approved a royal decree that includes the extension of the deadline until 14 February 2024. This modification will affect viewers, as in 12 months they will be obliged to have adapted televisions capable of receiving HD broadcasts.
The new royal decree presented by the Minister for Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Nadia Calviño, modifies the National Technical Plan for DTT. A change that the government justifies on the grounds of “the exceptional situation resulting from the pandemic, which has slowed down the renewal of television sets adapted for high-definition DTT broadcasts”.
Calviño explained that “with this measure, what we are doing is preventing certain citizens from being deprived of the DTT service or having to face the cost of acquiring new television equipment adapted to high definition at this time”.
Spectrum reorganisation to boost 5G
The royal decree also amends the regulation on the use of the public radio domain, allowing for the reorganisation of the 26 GHz band, which is essential for the penetration of 5G technology.
A part of the band’s frequencies will be granted without the need for a tender and opens the way for it to be used for industrial purposes in certain small-scale locations on a self-provisioning basis. This modification, the government explains, “is a further step towards the creation, by way of example, of private 5G networks for the automation of factories and production centres”.
This change is part of the Plan to promote 5G, one of the challenges set out in the Recovery Plan and the Digital Spain Agenda 2026, and complements the tender for the 26 GHz band frequencies that ended a month ago.
