Information on the Digitalization Process of Audiovisual Broadcasts in the Regions of Tirana and Durrës
September 13, 2018
Given the many questions, phone calls and numerous comments received by AMA, we are repeating some information on the digitalization process of broadcasting in the districts of Tirana and Durrës.
- With the starting of digital broadcasting, residents of the Tirana and Durres districts have the opportunity to attend 34 free channels that can be viewed by all DVB-T2 decoders;
- All televisions regardless of production year or brand, fit with decoders (DVB-T2) available in the market;
- 88,000 decoders for free have been distributed by the government to households that are part of the economic aid scheme. All these decoders receive free of charge 34 channels;
- The campaign for information and public awareness of the digitalization process has been going on for about two years, being considered a longer-term campaign than other countries in the region.
- There are about 300 public interviews organised with the participation of AMA specialists and field experts, accompanied by periodic broadcast of advertisements on television and radio, dedicated to the awareness of citizecs regarding the proces of digitalization.
- The technology being applied to DVB-T2 is defined in the National Digitalization Strategy in 2012, also sanctioned in Law no. 97/2013 “On audiovisual media in the Republic of Albania”, as amended;
- The costs of switching to digital broadcasting for local operators will be covered by the government during the first year. This sanctioned by the Law no. 34/2017 “On the Diversity Digital Frequency Freedom”, as amended;
- AMA, in 2015, has reduced the tariff for local regional operators relying on the public operator’s network, from 5760 euros / month that was designed by the previous AMA board to around 2150 euros per month;
- AMA has the public fund, guaranteed by the government to inform the public for the digitalization process by the end of 2018. This fund will be used to tailor advertising based on the issues encountered during the passage of audiovisual broadcasts in the districts of Tirana and Durrës;
- AMA will continue with the campaign information and awareness of citizens in order to successfully switch digital broadcasts in the districts of Tirana and Durrës within 15 January 2019.
Audiovisual Media Authority
