Release of the 700 MHz band, television operators ask for more money

2026-04-22 12:45:00, Aktualitet CNA

The process of releasing the 700 MHz frequency band is still pending. According to the National Frequency Plan, the 700 MHz band (694-790 MHz) should have finally passed under the administration of the Electronic and Postal Communications Authority (AKEP) starting from June 30, 2022. However, the release of this process is proving to be a difficult process and in violation of the established deadlines.

The 700MHz band is currently still in use by audiovisual broadcasting operators.

In the annual report for the 2025 Assembly, the Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA) announced that this process was not completed last year either.

In September last year, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy (MIE) put out for public consultation the draft law “On the release of the Second Digital Dividend (DD2) frequencies.” The draft law provides for a total compensation for audiovisual operators in the amount of 5.14 million euros.

Subsequently, AMA held a consultative meeting with representatives of RTSH and national private operators, where the draft law was discussed and its potential impacts in technical and financial terms were analyzed.

During this meeting, operators submitted a series of well-argued proposals and requests, which aimed to adapt the financial and methodological framework of compensation to market reality and the current costs of technical migration.

At the end of the discussions, the operators proposed changing the currency of compensation calculation from euro to lek, based on the December 2022 exchange rate, assessing equipment costs in accordance with real market prices, and using the compensation fund only for private national operators, with the exception of RTSH.

Following the process, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy requested AMA to prepare updated information regarding any changes in the technical configuration of the

network infrastructure occurring after 2022, which may affect the migration plan and the financial compensation process.

With the management of information from operators, AMA has contacted and communicated with the expert of the group contracted within the framework of the European Union project "On technical assistance in the field of telecommunications" in 2022 and has invited him to contribute to the updated impact assessment and the determination of costs related to the DD2 band release process.

The expert will conduct an assessment of the changes and their impact over the last three years, considering the possibility of re-using or adapting existing transmission equipment after the frequency migration, the realistic possibility of selling or partially repairing the replaced equipment, as well as the relevance of standard labor costs and workload estimates, taking into account current market practices.

According to the AMA, the purpose of this assessment is not to remodel the methodology used in 2022, but to ensure its compatibility with market reality and updated parameters in 2026.

The expansion of mobile communications in the 700MHz band is expected to be the most important link towards the adoption of 5G technology, in terms of spectrum management, because technically, this band offers network coverage of the widest areas. Based on the decision of the European Parliament dated May 17, 2017, EU member states must allow the use of this band for the provision of broadband mobile electronic communications services.

For 5G generation networks, the National Frequency Plan has defined 3 main frequency bands: 700 MHz, 3.5 GHz and 26 GHz. Currently, in Albania, the 3400-3800 MHz and 26 GHz bands are free, while the 700 MHz band is in use by several audiovisual media operators. After this band is transferred under the administration of AKEP, it will be made available for use for 5G mobile networks, following and implementing the relevant legal procedures.

In 2024, AKEP granted the rights to use frequencies in the 3.5 GHz band, the first frequencies being used to provide 5G mobile communication technology in Albania. /Monitor