16th APDC – PT Congress does not accept to be excluded from the Digital Television contest

COLLAB distinguished with the APDC / Siemens Innovation Award

(Updated) The President of Portugal Telecom said today that the company does not accept being excluded from the possibility of participating in the Digital Terrestrial Television contest, whose opening should be close as anticipated by the Secretary of State for Communications, Paulo Campos, on the first day of the Congress of the APDC.

The question about PT’s interest in this contest was posed by Pedro Leitão, from Media Capital, already in the question and answer period of the session of the State of the Nation, with Henrique Granadeiro explaining that «it would be absurd» to exclude PT from the contest.

«We do not accept being excluded at the outset as it was already advanced in one of the sessions of the congress», affirmed the president of PT, saying that it had even been suggested the possibility of creating a special exclusion clause.

«It would be absurd to exclude PT mainly after we have committed to sell PTM», underlined Henrique Granadeiro. «We are convinced that we have the means, skills and capacity to provide Portugal with a new Digital Terrestrial Television infrastructure,» he added.

However, the president of PT also said that when he knows the context in which the tender will be launched, the company will speak with more depth on the subject.

Sonaecom interested but conditioned by OPA scenario

Paulo Azevedo also affirmed Sonaecom’s interest in the Digital Terrestrial Television license, but affirming itself conditioned by the scenarios of the OPA whether it materializes or not and the company having already sold PTM. «Our goal is to be allies with one of the holders of broadcast infrastructure,» he confirmed.

However, the president of Sonaecom considers it fair to exclude his eventual candidacy if he has not yet sold PTM, one of the remedies imposed by the Competition Authority so that the company can proceed with the OPA.

«If everything is clear, we will be competitors and together with Media Capital we have the ability to be one of the main candidates», concluded Paulo Azevedo.

Vodafone wants to analyze Mobile and Terrestrial Digital TVAntónio Carrapatoso also admitted that he is interested in DVB-H for mobile but also in the terrestrial component of Digital Television. «We do not exclude the possibility of analyzing both areas», said the president of Vodafone.

The operator’s interest is part of its strategy of bundling of products, which Vodafone believes can contribute to increasing service revenue with the customer base.

Editorial Note: [18:33] The news was updated with more information on the positions of Sonaecom and Vodafone on the matter.

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