The new, more comprehensive design to cover the “White Areas” brings the Ministry of Digital Governance, under which the facility is provided Additional Coverage Stations (SCC) with distribution of television signal through terrestrial or satellite channels, so that citizens in the country’s border and critical regions (98%) can enjoy programs on open television stations.
As the Minister of Digital Governance points out, Dimitris Papastergiou “The critical regions may be geographically on the edge of the country, but it is a fact that they are at the center of our interests, as is constantly emphasized as a government priority by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis himself.
We are interested in improving the daily lives, possibilities and opportunities of citizens in areas far from the capital and large urban centers.
As the Ministry of Digital Governance, we are moving forward with renewed planning for television coverage of the “White Areas” to ensure that citizens of East Macedonia and Thrace, North and South Aegean have access to free-to-air television stations.
Equal participation of citizens in communication and information
By installing antenna systems we will achieve population coverage of these areas at a rate of 98%. We aim for the equal participation of citizens in communication and information, as well as reducing the digital divide between the country’s regions. Also with the implementation of this action we will give a significant boost to the communications sector with new opportunities, clearly also for the development of local communities”.
First phase
In the first phase of the new project implemented by the ministry, the regions of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, North and South Aegean were selected – due to national interest. Naturally, the installation of the Additional Coverage Stations will take place after the preparation of the technical study to plan their optimal location in the above-mentioned areas.
The ministry’s main objective is that this action reduces the digital divide between the country’s geographic regions, but at the same time, as Mr. Papastergiou emphasizes, it is a strong incentive and a step towards more business initiatives in the area of communications, stimulating the local markets, but also regions as a whole.
It should be noted that the project transforms the action “White Areas of access from areas outside television coverage to the programming of Greek television stations” initiated four years ago by the General Secretariat of Telecommunications and Posts and the National Directorate of Technology Infrastructure Network and Research – HERE SA (GRNET), from the Ministry of Digital Governance and was completed in March 2024 with the beneficiaries’ digital applications.
AMP Source