A series of questions, according which the legality of the DVB-t contract of the Greek state with Digea is being questioned, were sent by the left wing Greek government to the National Telecommunications Commission of Greece. According to the document, which was published first by infocom.gr, the Minister clearly sets legally worded questions, according to which the auction conducted by the Telecommunications Commission and was won by the consortium of major TV channels, is illegal and should possibly have been canceled. The Commission must respond within 5 working days, which is a nightmare for the service, as its chairman, the one who had vigorously defended the auction, has submitted his resignation since the last business day before the elections.
It goes without saying that if the government finds a way to legally contest the contract with Digea, they can launch a new auction with potentially greater economic benefits for the public. It is also noteworthy that there is a provision in the bill for the reinstantiation of the Greek Public Broadcaster (ERT), that the new ERT can be a DVB-T network carrier itself. Finally, it is expected to reconstitute the National Broadcasting Council to provide new licenses, and possibly take over the responsibilities of the Telecommunications Commission, whose constitutionality is also being contested.
According to the document released, questions have included the arguments that
- the auction should have been turned down, as only one contestant participated,
- the law does not permit a network carrier to also be a content provider
- the Commission changed the financial plan of the deal after the auction had finished
- the auction terms on the timeplan prevented others from participating in the auction
- the Commission accepted an offer for 95% coverage of the country, whether a 98% coverage was requested; the local councils were therefore required to provide funds for covering expenses
- it is not clear which technical frequency plan was the auction based on
