The Ministry of Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, Ministry of Culture, Croatian Post and Electronic Communications Agency, Agency for Supervision of Electronic Media and network operator Odašiljači i veze d.o.o. deliver, through the Strategy implementation supervision system, regular individual reports on implementation of single measures and activities under their competence. The Central State Administrative Office for e-Croatia prepares a comprehensive annual report on the basis of received reports, market research and public polls results and submits it to the Croatian Government which in return carries out comprehensive supervision over the implementation of this Strategy.
The implementation of the Strategy is a complex work, particularly since it is a multiannual project of the Croatian Government encompassing planning, supervision and application of digital television system, financing, informing the public, distribution of vouchers and finally purchase of digital receivers.
Success of the Strategy implementation may, in general, be considered though the success in realisation of two basic criteria for the Strategy implementation:
- Criteria 1: Availability of digital signal in relation to analogue signal,
- Criteria 2: Availability of digital signal receivers.
According to
Criteria 1, until the end of 2010, digital signal must cover at least 95% of Croatian inhabitants (according to the regional transfer model) for at least one digital multiplex (multi-programme channel consisting of several radio or tv programme and/or other data simultaneously transferred in a single radio-frequency channel) which encompasses the existing analogue offer (four TV programmes on the country level). Major progress has been achieved in realisation of this criterion, considering that by the end of July 2009, digital signal covered 90.8% of the inhabitants on the Croatian territory.
According to Criteria 2, Strategy participant have been obliged to secure development of competitive market with a wide selection of digital receivers (receivers built in the existing TV sets or separate devices). In order to fulfil this criterion, the Central State Administrative Office for e-Croatia opened a Public tender for delivery of information on sale points in the Republic of Croatia offering, among other things, digital television signal receivers. The goal of this Public tender was to encompass information on all sale points in the Republic of Croatia offering digital television signal receivers, in one place (Website of the Croatian Government on digital television: www.vlada.hr/dtv). Until the present day, information on 165 sale points across Croatia is available on this Website, and the number constantly increasing. Regarding the informing of traders on the manner of encashment of vouchers, the process of their informing has already started and is still ongoing. For that purpose, clear instructions – sort of activities workflow, from the moment of receipt of the voucher up to its submission to traders has been published on the Website of the company Odašiljači i veze d.o.o. www.oiv.hr and on the Website of the Croatian Government on digital television: www.vlada.hr/dtv. At the same time, the Central State Administrative Office for e-Croatia is in daily contact with numerous traders seeking information regarding the project projects. In conclusion, the Central State Administrative Office for e-Croatia has forwarded the Public tender and instructions for traders for receipt and encashment of vouchers to the Croatian Chamber of Economy and Croatian Employers' Association with the request to forward these to all their members. The result of the stated activities is the fact that, today, digital receivers may be bought with a discount granted by the Government's voucher in a number of sale point across Croatia.
Fulfilment of conditions under
Criteria 2, also refers to the grant for purchase of digital receivers given to end users – citizens paying RTV subscription by the Croatian Government in order to accelerate equipping the citizens with digital receivers and to make the purchase less expensive According to the decision of the Croatian Government on the manner of distribution of funds and criteria for giving the grant to citizens paying radio and TV subscription for the purchase of digital terrestrial tv signals receivers in the Republic of Croatia (Class: 612-12/08-01/03, File No.: 5030108-08-3) as of 31 July 2008, the grant was foreseen in the amount of 135.00 HRK per user. However, distribution of vouchers has not been carried out in accordance with this Decision due to reduction in planned funds according thereto.
The said Decision has been substituted by new Decision on the manner of distribution of funds and criteria for giving grant to citizens paying radio and tv subscription for the purchase of digital terrestrial tv signals receivers (Class: 612-12/09-01/02; File No.: 5030104-09-1) as of 12 February 2009, pursuant to which the amount of the grant for the purchase of digital receivers (hereinafter: STB device) was reduced to 75.00 HRK. Thereby, technological neutrality has been achieved, in the manner that the grant is assigned not only for purchase of STB device for receiving digital terrestrial tv signals, but for receiving all digital tv signals – terrestrial, cable, satellite and other, ensuring thereby equal and non-discriminatory position for all available manners for providing digital tv services on the market. In this way is digitalisation process completely aligned with applicable EU aquis communautaire.
In the end, it is important to mention that Croatia is one of few European countries providing financial support to all public television subscribers for the purchase of digital tv receivers. The form of the Croatian system for assisting transfer to digital television is the most similar to that applied in the United States of America. Other countries, such as Great Britain, France and Spain directed their assistance in transfer to digital television exclusively to families with lower income. Austria, for example, provides its assistance for transfer only to first 100,000 households which decided to transfer to digital television.