March 26 (SeeNews) - Croatia's telecommunications regulator HAKOM said it has decided to push forward by at least six months the current May 25 deadline for complete transition to the new DVB-T2 HEVC system for TV transmission, because of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
All Croatian citizens will be able to continue watching TV programmes via the equipment they currently have until the arrival of the new deadline, which will not happen before the end of November or the beginning of December 2020, HAKOM said in a statement on Wednesday.
HAKOM added it will inform the public about the new deadline as soon as it is set.
"The decision to postpone the deadline is adopted because it is still unknown how long the anti-epidemic measures will last, while the fight against the infection in Croatia and the world will significantly impact the availability and accessibility of receivers for the Croatian population," HAKOM said, adding it is of utmost importance to provide continuous information to all citizens, and to enable the teaching of all students via TV programmes.
Television broadcasting in Croatia is currently in a transition period with all programmes transmitted simultaneously in the existing DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting — Terrestrial) and in the new DVB-T2 (Digital Video Broadcasting — Second Generation Terrestrial) system. This period will continue until complete transition to the new system.
The number of people infected by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Croatia rose to 481 as of March 26, from 418 a day earlier, the Croatian Institute of Public Health, HZJZ, said on Thursday.