On 16 and 17 September 2010 Bulgarian delegation, led by the Chairman of the Communications Regulation Commission, PhD Veselin Bozhkov, visited the Information and Communication Technologies Authority of Turkey (ICTA). The reason for the discussions between PhD Veselin Bozhkov and the Chairman of the Board and President of ICTA PhD Tayfun Acarer was the problem related to the cross-border interference in the ranges for VHF-FM radio and television broadcasting, a substantial issue during the summer on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast. The topic was further discussed with PhD Davut Dursun – President of the Radio and Television Supreme Council of Turkey (RTUK).

 

The Chairman of the CRC submitted specific data from measurements, made by the regulator in August on the Black Sea coast. The CRC made concrete proposals to ICTA and RTUK in order to undertake specific measures to overcome the problem of the cross-border interference between Bulgaria and Turkey.

 

As a result of the discussions the parties have agreed to establish a joint working group, which should hold meetings twice a year and report on their activities on a quarterly basis. The first task of the working group will be by the end of the year a common Methodology for joint measurements of the radio interference to be developed and adopted. Also, since March 2011 experts from the Regulators will conduct joint measurements at least twice a year and if necessary - other technical researches will be held. Turkey will begin researches to expand the use of RDS for VHF-FM radio stations for better identification of the sources of interference. After clarifying the sources of interference the necessary technical precautions will be undertaken, such as reducing the power of the Turkish radio stations.

The CRC, ICTA and RTUK agreed to hold regular meetings at the highest level for evaluating the results of the joint working group.