Italy to promote DVB-T2 with €50 subsidy

The Italian government is attempting to boost DVB-T2 adoption with the introduction of a €50 subsidy.

TheItalian Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) put this forward as a part of the 2019 Budget, with a total allocation of €151 million for the initiative. It is believed that the subsidy will be introduced as early as November 15, with confirmation expected following a 30-day period for public consultation.

This subsidy could see as many as 3.02 million new homes benefit.

The contribution is intended for the purchase of a single device by December 31, 2022, or until the allocation runs out.

The discount will be applied by retailers both physically and online, with no possibility for a refund or rebate should the device cost less than €50.

Discounts will be available on equipment equipped with a DVB-T2 HEVC tuner, according to ITU-T recommendation H.265. MISE will publish a full list of conforming devices on its website.

The transition to DVB-T2 in Italy has not been smooth, with an initial roadmap approved last autumn being cancelled. That roadmap also included abandoning the MPEG 2 codec on January 1, 2020, but that has now been postponed to late 2021.