A lot has been said lately about the free reception of local television stations via digital terrestrial (DGTV) propagation. What was not stated was whether free reception of Italian TV stations via DGTV will be available for the Maltese.

Up to now we have been receiving free analogue Italian TV through our rooftop antennas. Italian stations are being transmitted freely from Sicily in both analogue and digital propagation. The digital version of the Italian stations is noticeably weak and very unreliable.

Italian TV will be totally digitised by 2012, when Sicily, the last in a nationwide series of changeovers, will stop all analogue TV transmissions.

What will be the outcome after 2012? Are we Maltese going to be hooked to a provider to watch Italian TV? Is this going be the end of free Italian TV?

I admit that this downgrading in free TV service is not the responsibility of the local authorities. Therefore, I wish to suggest to the Italian Embassy and Italian Cultural Institutions in Malta to use their influence with the Italian authorities in order to safeguard the free cultural TV link between Italy and Malta.

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