Announcement
The Communications Regulation Commission (CRC/the Commission) has issued an authorization to the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) to use radio frequency spectrum for analogue broadcasting by virtue of which BNR is obligated to guarantee an uninterrupted signal transmission on the territory of the whole country.
On the 13th of September 2019, CRC carried out an inspection relating to the interruption of broadcasting of BNR’s program “Horizont” which showed that BNR has violated the terms of the authorization issued by CRC.
Within the inspection, carried out on the 13th of September 2019, inspectors of CRC found interruption of the broadcasting of the “Horizont” program. The Bulgarian National Radio didn’t provide any evidence for a technical problem that necessitates interruption of the broadcasting of the “Horizont” program. It was found that the optical transmission between BNR and "NURTS Bulgaria" EAD used by both BNR programs "Horizont" and "Hristo Botev", has not been interrupted on 13th of September 2019. No interruption of the broadcasting of the program "Hristo Botev" was found.
During the inspection carried out at NURTS Bulgaria EAD, was established interruption of the broadcasting of the “Horizont” programme on the territory of the whole country from 64 transmission stations. It was found that the only radio broadcasting stations that should have been put under annual technical maintenance on 13th of September 2019 in the period from 09:00 am to 05:00 pm were RRTS “Belogradchic”, RRTS “Ivajlovgrad” and RRTS “Treshtenik.
In the course of the inspection, it was found that on 12th of September 2019 at 09:26 am the technical director at BNR has sent an e-mail to the Head of the department “Radio Broadcasting” at NURTS Bulgaria EAD with a request to cease the broadcasting of the “Horizont” program on 13th of September 2019 on the territory of the whole country from 06:00 am to 11:00 am due to maintenance of the studio complex. On the 12th of September 2019, NURTS Bulgaria EAD sent an e-mail to the technical director in BNR in order to inform him that no signal of the “Horizont” program would be transmitted for the requested time period. On 13th of September 2019 at 08:07 am again by an e-mail the technical director requested the signal of the “Horizont” program to be restored at 10:20 am.
The Bulgarian Telecommunication Company (BTC) EAD was asked to provide information is there any registered BNR signal regarding the optical transmission between BNR and NURTS Bulgaria EAD. It was found that as of 14:54 on 13th of September 2019 no signal had been received from BNR for the previous 48 hours.
The Commission concluded that there were no statutory grounds giving BNR the right to interrupt broadcasting of the “Horizont” program on the 13th of September 2019 in the period from 06:30 am to 10:30 am.
As a result of the inspection carried out, CRC draw up and handed to BNR an act of administrative offence on 17th of September 2019. The 3-day statutory deadline for the offender to object expires on the 20th of September 2019. After that a penalty act shall be issued.
The financial penalty that could be imposed according to the Law on Electronic Communications varies between 10 000 and 100 000 BGN. On the 16th of September 2019, CRC submitted the materials concerning the inspection of the Bulgarian National Radio to the Supreme Prosecutor's Office of Cassation.
