Between June and October of 2018, experts from the state agency for networks and broadcasting Hakom recorded a lower frequency of TV signal interference from Italy - unchanged from 2017 when it had been greatly reduced due to switching off a number of transmitters - although FM radio interference increased in the same period, Hakom said on Monday.

The problem of Italian transmitters interfering with Croatian broadcasting networks has been going on for years, causing Hakom to regularly measure the strength and interference level of Italian broadcasting, with the agency then filing complaints with Italian authorities.

The problem is most pervasive in the coastal areas of the country, as Italian radio and TV broadcasting can easily cross across the Adriatic Sea.

In their most recent report released on Monday, Hakom said that Italian signal interference with Croatian TV broadcasts was reduced by January 2017 after the majority of the interfering transmitters had been switched off in Italy’s regions of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Marche, Abruzzo and Puglia, after Italy had passed a new law and broadcasting frequency plan designed to reduce interference with neighbouring countries.

Although this year the interference of TV broadcasts remained at lowered levels recorded in 2017, the mixing of signals in FM radio broadcasts increased, due to the terrestrial digital audio broadcasting (T-DAB) transmitters, which resulted in 660 new requests sent to Italian authorities, Hakom said.

Over the past ten years, Hakom has sent Italy some 5,100 interference reports.

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