ASIMELEC defends the role of manufacturers in the face of the confusion generated by paid DTT

The employers' association recalls that all the devices on sale are designed to view free DTT channels and believes it is unfair that manufacturers concentrate the criticism that arises from the confusion between DTT and paid DTT.

ASIMELEC, an association that brings together Spanish Information Technology, Communications and Electronics companies, believes that television and tuner manufacturers are concentrating the criticism generated by existing doubts among users as a result of the confusion between DTT and paid DTT.

In this regard, ASIMELEC wanted to make it clear through a statement that the televisions and tuners currently sold in Spain are prepared to receive DTT channels freely and free of charge, both broadcasts with state coverage and those with regional and local coverage. As an example, there are areas in which more than 30 open and free DTT channels are received, while in paid DTT there is currently only one, Gol Tv.

Likewise, the Employers' Association points out that the technical standard that regulates the so-called paid DTT was approved on July 27 and that, despite the short time that has passed since then, there is already a high percentage of manufacturers that also have this technological capacity in their devices.

Confusion among consumers

In this regard, and according to José Pérez, general director of ASIMELEC, "the way in which paid DTT has been regulated, the creation of the Gol TV channel, for which Abertis certifies, and the adaptation of Spanish radio broadcasting to this new technology, has created some confusion among consumers. I think it should be made clear that the manufacturers' offer allows any user to enjoy free and open DTT, and that the rest of the offer in this technology, called paid, requires a subscription and a new tuner model, as well as a PCMCIA module in the case of digital televisions.”

ASIMELEC also declares that this confusion is causing some Autonomous Communities to announce the possibility of returning products not prepared for paid DTT by users. According to the Employers' Association, these returns are neither justified nor legally possible and arise from the lack of clear and precise information that differentiates free and free DTT from paid DTT and the various platforms under this modality, such as Gol TV.