Fields of activity

Aims of the company of RAS for the years 2009 and 2013:

• Adaptation of the RAS-law and the new needs: The legal basic conditions will be adapted to the basic law reform as well as the new legal and technical possibilities
• Finance of the project of the RAS in the household of the country and coverage of the planed projects by a perennial financing plan
• Adaptation of a job chart of RAS to the new added needs
• Allocation of a convenient plant
• Service and maintenance of the transmitter network and of the infrastructure of the RAS
• Commissioning of the digital broadcasting network and of the transition from the terrestrial to the digital technology – transition from DAB and DVB. Expansion of the correspondent program offers by order of the government of the land
• Realization of collective infrastructures for public broadcasting services, public radio services, as well as for private program offerer and mobile providers
• Diffusion of broadcasting programs as well as radio- and data services for third (Carrier-services)
• Changeover of the international radio relay and the radio ring line Bozen-Innsbruck-Bozen on the digital transfer mode system
• Prosecution and extension of the corporation with the public broadcasting companies ORF, ZDF, SRG, ARD, RAI and with the authorities, the communication ministry and the private program offerer as well as the intensification of the public relation and a new web presence
• Adoption of a costs- and results accounting for the disbursements of RAS adverse third

The broadcasting company has experienced a basic change on account of technological changes. During the last years it came to an increase of the transmission modes, such as digital broadcasting, Internet television, video on call or mobile broadcasting. Also the receive-units have changed fundamentally sue to the new needs of the users.

However, television and radio remain in spite of the quick development of new communication technologies those mass media which still reach and inform the large part of the population.

It is the cultural duty of the RAS to spread the programs of German and Ladin speaking broadcasting companies from the neighbouring foreign countries in South Tyrol by order of the South Tyrolean government. The RAS follows this basic support order by an almost full-coverage terrestrial supply with programs from the German and Ladin speaking cultural area.

The transmitter net of the RAS currently consists of about 940 transmitting sets which operate in about 120 locations (of it 65 in possession of the broadcasting company of South Tyrol (RAS)). The property amounts to about 51 million Euros. It is necessary to preserve this stock by constant servicing and maintenance.

The present coverage degree with 99.6 percent can be called full-coverage. Now small edge areas which could not be supplied with analogous technology can also be covered thanks to new transmission technologies. The digital technology besides the trouble-free reception has the farther advantage that with a higher number of programs the spreading costs can be lowered.

The transmitter locations of the RAS, moreover, are used by important radio services of the state and the country e.g. the Carabinieri, the police, the civil defence, the country emergency number, the white cross, the fire brigade and the mountain rescue. The RAS locations are provided to different mobile radio operators, the private broadcasting company suppliers and above all to the RAI. The recently activated broadband-internet services among others are also ensured over the transmitter locations of the RAS. Currently more than 850 radio transmitters and television broadcasting stations and more than 300 radio services public interest are installed on the transmitter locations of the RAS.

These common transmitter locations are all settled outside populated areas. Therefore they load the environment and the landscape relatively slightly.

Due to these advantages the RAS will establish common transmitter locations on the basis of the country subject plan for communication infrastructures in the order of the South Tyrolean government within the next years.

The state directives intend the entire change to the digital television technology (terrestrial Digitally video Broadcasting, DVB-T) at national level within 2012. Nevertheless, in the region Trentino South Tyrol the entire change should already occur within the second half-year in 2009. The date set by the ministry for economic development is the 10/26/2009.

A great challenge with this entire change on the digital television technology is the establishment of same wave nets with which countrywide all transmitting sets of a television net on the same frequency (Single Frequency Network SFN) are pursued.

With this change also new additional programs could be transmitted. Besides programs in the three national languages also foreign-language programs can be offered. The decision of the program choice is incumbent upon the South Tyrolean government.

The program offer could also be increased by means of application of new transmission technologies or the program quality could further be improved.

The spreading of high-definition television programs (High definition television HDTV) below the use of the new compression procedure MPEG4 will be realised by the RAS in South Tyrol with stress.

During the last years, the RAS has established a new digital directional radio net for the program transmission from the RAS-seat in Bozen to the main transmitter locations in South Tyrol and for the program exchange between North Tyrol and South Tyrol . Within the next years this net should be continuously developed and should reach all main transmitter locations in the different valleys.

Also the spreading of the digital radio (Digitally Audio Broadcasting DAB) should be advanced. With the purchase of farther transmitting sets the existing radio programs can be still spread capillary. The use of new transference standards (DAB +, DMB) will still increase the quality and the number of the transmitted radio programs.

The RAS receives more and more enquiries for the spreading of radio programs as well as radio services and data services for third parties (Carrier services, network operators). An adaptation of the legal bases would be necessary for it, administrative processes would have to be defined new as well as personnel and financial resources would have to be provided.

In the telecommunication sector the RAS will further speed up the development of broadband infrastructures in South Tyrol by order of the South Tyrolean government. By means of European advertisings and projects which are also financed by EU appropriations above all the peripheral areas of South Tyrol should be supplied with quick Internet connections and mobile radio.

All these plans require an intensive cooperation with the different departments of the country, the authorities, the municipalities, the ministries and the different broadcasting companies inland and abroad. Because these plans, however, also concern large population circles, a strengthening of the public relations is necessary.

In order that the RAS can follow her basic support order, it requires a secure annual allocation. The technical area requires more than other areas a long-term planning.

Currently, the RAS is financed by the three country departments culture, spatial planning and public works. A coordination of these allocations is necessary to guarantee the efficiency and transparency.

Due to her technical competence the RAS advises different institutions like regional authorities, ministries, services of public interest, mobile radio operators and private operators. Furthermore, the RAS is a member of the country commission for communication infrastructures and plays a consulting part in working groups of the ministry of economic development. The perception of such important duties requires a regular schooling of the certified staff of the RAS, an adaptation of the job chart to the new needs as well as a suitable financial equipment of the broadcasting company of South Tyrol .