Astra Spain fights for DTT

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These aren’t easy times for Astra Spain. The market of the satellite operator in this country has been reduced to the distribution of the signals of Sogecable’s satellite pay-TV operator Digital+ and a bunch of international free-to-air channels mainly addressed to foreign residents.

Now the operator also wants to take a piece of the DTT distribution cake but the country’s main signal distribution operator Abertis Telecom is likely to make this very difficult. The conflict between the companies has reached a regulator, the Telecommunications Market Comission (CMT).

Astra has asked the CMT to mediate and oblige Abertis to allow it to use its network to distribute the DTT signal before national analogue switch-off takes place on April 3.

Spain’s transport and broadcasting of the TV signals is regulated under Abertis Telecom’s monopoly although the company must abide by a series of obligations in order to facilitate the development of its competitors’ business.

Astra thinks Abertis Telecom is not fulfilling these conditions and has asked the CMT for help, according to the newspaper El Mundo.

The satellite operator claims it is impossible to go for two public tenders in the provinces of Aragón and Extremadura for the deployment of DTT signals because Abertis has not fulfilled its obligations.

This is to allow Eutelsat to install its technology at a fair price on the Abertis telecom towers from where Abertis distribute its signals.

But a source from Abertis claimed the prices quoted on both occasions to Astra are well known by everybody and are approved by the CMT.

Astra has another gripe, telling the CMT that Abertis declined to offer it an interconnection price for its network in order to be able to go for those two tenders. But Abertis has declared its obligation is to give a co-installation service and not an interconnection one. This is the core of the problem.

Finally Astra has claimed that Abertis, within its the facto monopoly, is composing the prices it wants.

If Astra does not get the CMT’s approval it will have to negotiate individually with all the different broadcasters over the access to their channels to offer its satellite pay-TV clients the whole DTT platform.

Astra is also waiting for the European Comission to formally confirm whether it is right on complaining over the money given by Spain’s government for the plan for the DTT extension when no similar cash has been given for any other broadcasting method.

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