Portugal Telecom (PT) today launched a free-of-charge digital terrestrial television service (DTT) covering 40 percent of the population and is analysing a paid DTT service, CEO Zeinal Bava said. Besides offering digital-quality broadcasts, DTT also provides services such as a TV guide and digital recording. Five European countries offer a DTT service. The DTT rollout is an EU requirement, with analogue services due to be switched off in April 2012.
PT won both DTT licences - paid and free-of-charge - in a tender last year, but the process was delayed when the only other bidder, Sweden’s Airplus, appealed the decision saying the jury had not been impartial. Airplus earlier this month dropped the appeal.
“We’re still analysing the paid DTT service,” Mr Bava said. Last month he said the company was assessing the impact of the delay to the paid service from the change in the tender circumstances with Airplus’ protests.
Public works minister Mario Lino said DTT “is the new way to watch TV in Portugal” and added that PT expects to reach 80 percent of the population covered by the end of the year and 100 percent by 2010.
PT already offers a paid-TV service through its fixed-line network, competing with cable operators such as the market leader Zon.
(Source: Reuters)
on Apr 30th, 2009 at 09:57
All very well but at the moment it’s just the four terrestrial channels + the promise of an
HD one and that’s it!
There needs to be an incentive for people to change apart from “digital quality” like a
package of free channels as in Spain,France and the UK etc.
Unfortunately what would be considered a package of free channels are pay ones
on PT’s cable and satellite network.
In a lot of locations aerials/antennas will need to be changed as it nationally rolls
out on one Uhf channel ch 67.
on May 1st, 2009 at 08:38
Of course the other thing is that it only covers 40% of the population.
There is no incentive to use the system at all.
Essentially this is far too little far too late to be of use to anyone.
on May 1st, 2009 at 11:05
Coverage is going to roll out across the country in fairness.
Can’t see the take up being very good though (!) and the analogue services getting
the chop in 2012 seems wildly optimistic to say the least .
on Jun 14th, 2010 at 15:09
I had a frustrating 10 minutes with a salesman from Zon in Lisbon, today, basically trying to sell me the new package issued under the umbrella of “digital tv”. I already told him that I do not watch portuguese programmes and that instead I receive Astra 1 channels via my satellite dish. As far as I am concerned nothing is going to change, but he was trying to tell me that when analogue is switched off then all the services from foreign satellites would be blocked (his word “switched off”). But what will you do when everything is disconnected? The ingenuity of these sales people never ceases to amaze me. I am also fed up being told they can supply me with English or BBC channels, when this only extends to BBC World and BBC Prime at most. I do not want to pay to watch American talk shows and soaps!!! If I bought a 1.20m dish I could receive Freesat and it is only the size of the dish, that stops me doing that.