Category: News

On the night of 27 to 28 March, Emitel executed a change in the frequencies and standard of broadcasting of digital terrestrial television channels MUX1, MUX2 and MUX4. The changes affected the regions of the Sudetes and Lower Silesia and the Lubuskie Voivodeship.

The operation came as the first of four stages of the 700MHz band refarming, the process meant to free up the frequency band for the needs of 5G mobile telephony. The change of the broadcasting frequencies and standard concerned the broadcasting of the MUX-1, MUX-2, MUX-3 and MUX-4 multiplexes. No change affected broadcasting of MUX3 channels as these can be transmitted in the DVB-T standard until the end of 2023 pursuant to a decision of the Office of Electronic Communications (https://www.uke.gov.pl/akt/mux-3-bedzie-mogl-nadawac-w-standardzie-dvb-t-do-konca-2023-r-,419.html ).

The change did not affect the broadcasting parameters of the MUX8 multiplex, which is transmitted in the VHF band and is not subject to the refarming process.

The viewers affected by the changes in broadcasting from DVB-T to DVB-T2 do not need to make any adjustments in the settings of their receiver antennas.

Following the changes, most TV sets and decoders (the so-called Set-Top-Boxes, or STBs) should update their channel lists automatically. Some receiver models may require re-tuning with the remote control. Viewers who have older TV sets which are incompatible with the DVB-T2/HEVC standard will have to either purchase an STB or replace their TV sets to be able to receive Digital terrestrial Television.

Emitel announces all the effected changes on its website at https://www.emitel.pl/refarming/. The information includes respective locations, planned change dates and channel numbers.

Late at night yesterday we executed changes as part of the first stage of the refarming process. All tasks were completed successfully. The change in the broadcasting frequencies is not expected to give viewers any major problems. Since the directions of broadcasting from Emitel facilities have not changed, there is no need to reset or replace receiver antennas. Most TV sets will update their channel lists automatically. Only a small number of TV sets will have to be retuned manually, said Jerzy Godek, Board Member at Emitel S.A.

The so-called “700 MHz band refarming” is an operation which involves shifting terrestrial television multiplexes from the 694–790 MHz frequency band to the lower 470–694 MHz band. This is caused by the requirement for European Union Member States to free up the 700 MHz band for the needs of mobile operators (5G services). The changes are compliant with the Ordinance of the President of the Office of Electronic Communications of 17 January 2020 on the frequency utilisation plan for the 470-790 MHz band.

The change to the DVB-T2/HEVC broadcasting standard taking place as part of the refarming means:

✓ Better image quality – HD resolution

✓ Possibility to broadcast UHD / 4k channels

✓ Better sound quality

✓ Wider range of amenities – sound personalisation

✓ Additional services – HbbTV hybrid television

Information on the changes is available on Emitel’s website. Updated parameters of transmitter stations can be found at: www.emitel.pl/strefa-klienta/odbior-rtv/sprawdz-parametry-emisji/  and in the EmiMaps app: www.emitel.pl/strefa-klienta/odbior-rtv/aplikacja-emimaps/

The Trusted Partner Network (TPN) is a global, industry-wide initiative created to protect film and TV content. The implementation of the TPN standard is based on certification and is a confirmation of information security for the audio-video sector. The TPN program helps companies prevent infringement and intrusion into movies and TV shows. Emitel, taking care of the welfare of its clients in this area, has started a multi-stage verification process in order to obtain this certificate. The certificate is renewed annually.

The certificate obtained by Emitel is a guarantee of safety for customers that the materials they entrust us with will serve the implementation of the agreed goals and will not be made available anywhere else in a way that would expose the clients to losses. Additionally, due to the fact that the certificate is recognized by the largest film and music producers in the world, it is easier for the company’s business partners to obtain approval to entrust Emitel with technical responsibility for working with their materials.

– The obtained certificate proves that Emitel adheres to the highest safety standards when working with audio-video materials and strives to develop multimedia products, including VoD – said Maciej Staszak, Vice President of the Management Board of Emitel S.A. – Furthermore, it is a confirmation that we operate in a responsible manner, and that we have appropriate technical safeguards, both in terms of networks and devices. Well trained personnel adhere to the applicable procedures, manage risk, operate in a planned manner, and our locations meet high security requirements, such as monitoring and access control – added Maciej Staszak.

Joining the TPN program offers a number of benefits, such as help in identifying security vulnerabilities/breaches and communicating countermeasures, accelerating the implementation of the assessment report, offering specific controls for the needs and workflows of certain types of vendors. The program also provides assistance in cases of security breaches via the TPN Platform.

About the Trusted Partner Network (TPN)

TPN (Trusted Partner Network) is an international standard for the audio-video industry, defining the conditions for maintaining the required degree of confidentiality when exchanging information with cooperators. The platform was developed by the American intellectual property protection organizations – MPAA and CDSA (Motion Picture Association of America and Content Delivery & Security Association), and includes a catalog of issues related to information security.

Today Emitel S.A. (“Emitel” or the “Company”) announced that its shareholder Alinda (“Alinda”) has signed a binding agreement to sell the Company to Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited (“Cordiant Digital”). The closing is subject to necessaryregulatory approvals.

Listed on the London Stock Exchange under the ticker CORD, Cordiant Digital is a specialist investment fund focused on investing in digital infrastructure assets in Europe and North America. As an investment company it can, unlike a private equity fund, adopt an extremely long-term investment horizon, enabling portfolio companies to execute on long-term investment plans with confidence. The firm is a “buy, build and grow” investor leveraging a large team of senior telecommunications industry executives and private equity professionals with deep digital experience. Cordiant Digital’s manager is part of Cordiant Capital, an institutional asset manager with committed capital of ca. $US 3 billion.

The Chairman of Cordiant’s Digital Infrastructure Practice is Steven Marshall, who was formerly President of American Tower (listed under AMT on the New York Stock Exchange), Chairman of the Wireless Infrastructure Association and CEO of National Grid Wireless of the U.K. He has had past experience in the Polish digital infrastructure market. He remarked:

“Emitel is a national champion in a country with strong public finances. Emitel enjoys attractive growth prospects in areas such as mobile towers, edge data and ‘smart cities’. We also applaud what managerment and employees of the firm have built to date (including a strong focus on sustainability), and look forward to investing further capital in support of Emitel’s growth.”

Emitel’s CEO Andrzej J. Kozlowski thanked Alinda for their consistent support as an investor and further commented: “In Cordiant we have an investor bringing both a long investment horizon and significant industry expertise; as such it can deploy capital, insight and patience to support us in our medium- and long-term growth plans in broadcasting and become an even more significant provider of outsourced digital infrastructure. We look forward to working with the Cordiant Digital team.”

Alinda Capital Partners’ Jim Metcalfe, Chairman of Emitel Supervisory Board said : “Emitel’s managment team and employees have positioned the company to continue to deliver best in class broadcast service across Poland and to grow as the leading independent provider of build to suit telecom towers.   Emitel has consistently delivered on its ESG initiatives and was recently recognized for its outperformance.  Alinda is committed to working with the management team and Cordiant to obtain Polish regulatory approvals and successfully transfer the company to its long term investor.”

Cordiant will seek to support Emitel through its industry knowledge and contacts, and to build on strong existing relationships with the relevant stakeholders and regulatory authorities.

Notes to Editors:

Cordiant Digital Infrastructure Limited primarily invests in the core infrastructure of the digital economy – data centres, fibreoptic networks and broadcast and telecommunication towers – “the plumbing of the internet” – in the UK, Europe and North America. Further details of the Company can be found on the Company’s website at www.cordiantdigitaltrust.com .

Cordiant Capital Inc., the Company’s investment manager, is a sector-focused investment manager with particular expertise and experience in digital infrastructure. Cordiant invests in global infrastructure and real assets, running infrastructure private equity and infrastructure private credit strategies through limited partnership funds and managed accounts. Cordiant’s current client base consists of global insurance companies, pension plans and family offices.

Disclaimer:

This document may contain certain forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or future performance, and reflect Cordiant Capital Inc.’s expectations or beliefs regarding future events, including business and economic conditions, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. These factors include, but are not limited to, market and general economic conditions, the nature of the telecommunications and internet industries. Such forward-looking statements reflect current beliefs and are based on information currently available to Cordiant Capital Inc

On 20th December 2021, Emitel submitted an appeal against the judgment in the Magna Polonia suit issued by the Regional Court in Warsaw, XVI Commercial Department. In the appeal, the Company demands the judgment to be changed and the lawsuit to be dismissed in its entirety as unfounded.

From the beginning of the proceedings, Emitel has taken a stance that the claims of Magna Polonia are unfounded and erroneous, and the evidence collected in the course of proceedings, documents and testimonies of witnesses independent of the parties irrefutably confirm that.

The District Court, in a non-final judgment dated July 2, 2021, issued a significant judgement in favor of Magna Polonia that indicated that there had been a breach of a confidentiality in 2013. Emitel disputes this judgement and states that there has been no breach of a confidentiality obligation. Reading the justification of the judgment, delivered by the Court on December the 6th, 2021, and to which the Company had been waiting for many months, only strengthened this conviction. We expect that the case, which has been pending for more than eight years, will find a quick ending in a favorable judgment for Emitel by the Court of Appeal. Emitel has the full support of its investors in pursuing a vigorous defense of the appeal of the judgement.

Emitel has been operating on the Polish market for several decades providing services to all major TV and radio broadcasters, as well as to many public institutions in Poland. Emitel delivers a unique combination of a team of high-class specialists, exceptional operations of essential broadcast infrastructure, high quality services, and high business and ethical standards in relations with our partners – customers, suppliers, market regulators.

The company has maintained its financial strength, access to sources of capital, and operational efficiency even during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, Emitel refinanced its 1.5 billion PLN debt facility with a group of high quality lenders from Poland and leading international banks. The company continues to implements key projects, including 700MHz band refarming, i.e. to free up band for the purposes of building 5G networks in Poland – a key project for Poland national objectives for telecommunications.  The attention of the Management Board is focused on further building of the Company’s value and exploiting the opportunities which arise from the need to expand the telecommunications and broadband infrastructure in Poland.

In the 2021 GRESB Infrastructure Assessment, which measures companies’ performance in the areas of Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”), Emitel scored a record 90 points (out of 100), and has again received the coveted 5-star distinction. Emitel’s score reflects Emitel’s commitment to excellence in the care for the environment, society and corporate governance, and that related company policies and practices are consistently implemented.

The 5-star distinction is awarded by GRESB only to the top 20% of reporters globally.  This year, Emitel earned a record score of 90 out of 100 points, improving last year’s score by four points. The score ranks Emitel 5^th in its peer group, among the top 100 companies of 549 participating and within the top 10% of global reporters for ESG management.

Emitel has been participating in the GRESB Infrastructure Assessment since its inception in 2016; the company has implemented a rigorous ESG program and continuous improvement measures, which are validated by Emitel’s score increases annually.

– Emitel’s strategy has been created and implemented with consideration for all stakeholder groups – shareholders and employees, as well as clients and suppliers. Of course, we do not forget about the principles of sustainable growth, in particular the need to care for the natural environment. Such approach brings benefits to the company and contributes to the improvement of quality of life for all of us. This also allows us to build the value of our company – as the times when businesses were rated solely through the lens of financial results have long been gone. – Andrzej J. Kozłowski, the Managing Director of Emitel S.A. said.

– The awareness of ESG policies, practices and performance continues to garner focus globally, regardless of industry sector. Alinda is very pleased to see Emitel’s consistent, outstanding ESG performance as demonstrated by their continuously improving results in the GRESB survey. We wish to congratulate the entire team for obtaining such a high score. – said Jim Metcalfe, Managing Partner at Alinda Capital Partners and the Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Emitel.

GRESB is a mission-driven and industry-led organization that provides actionable and transparent ESG data to financial markets. Created in 2009, GRESB is the global ESG benchmark for financial markets. In 2021, GRESB BV – a benefit corporation – began the process of establishing an independent, not-for-profit GRESB Foundation to own and govern the standards upon which GRESB Assessments are based.

The XVIII Chopin Competition, the biggest musical event in Poland and one of the greatest musical events in the world commences this Saturday, October 2^nd The competition will open at 8.00 p.m. with a ceremonial concert of the 5 winners of the previous deditions with Belcea Quaratet, Simply Quartet and the The National Orchestra and Choir of Poland directed by Andrzej Boreyka. The repertoire is going to include compositions by Schumann, Beethoven and Bach. Emitel is the Competition Partner.

A record number of participants joined the XVIII Chopin Competition – over 500 pianists from all over the world. Due to the restrictions related to the pandemic, the Competition was moved from 2020 to 2021. Elliminations took part in July this year. The jury qualified 87 pianists to participate in the Chopin Competition, including 16 from Poland.

– As Frederic Chopin said in one of his letters to his family, music does not have one homeland, it knows no borders. He was right, as his music is thoroughly enjoyed by the entire world, and his compositions fascinate subsequent generations. But there comes a moment, when the greatest piano talents congregate in a single place, when the attention of all the Chopin lovers focuses on Poland, the Composer’s homeland. This time is coming now. I am exceptionally proud that Emitel is the partner of the 18^th of the Chopin Competition. We are very glad that thanks to our help, the signal broadcast by the Polish Radio and the Polish Television is going to carry the beautiful sounds of Chopin’s music to recipients in Poland. I wish the best to all the participants of the Competition, and challenging sessions to the jury members, as they are going to be indicative of the competition on the high level. And for the rest of us – the listeners, viewers and the audience – I wishme memorable artistic impressions – Andrzej J. Kozłowski, the President of Emitel S.A. Management Board said during the press conference inaguruating the XVIII Chopin Competition.

The Competition is divided into 4 stages. The first is going to commence on Sunday, 3 October at 10 a.m. Approximately half of the participants of the previous stage are going to qualify to each subsequent stage. The pianists are going to be judged by a jury composed of exceptional pianists and teachers.

The results are going to be announced traditionally, at the staircase to the foyer of the National Philharmonic at night between October 20 and 21. The award ceremony and the first concert of laureates are going to be held on 21 October at Wielki Theatre – Polish National Opera.

The Chopin Competition will traditionally be broadcast in its entirety by TVP Kultura, Programme II of Polish Radio and Radio Chopin. The Chopin Competition will also streamed live to music lovers via YouTube Konkurs Chopinowski channel. Over 100 hours of transmission of competition hearings are ahead of us. During the previous edition in 2015, viewers collectively watched the auditions from the Competition 9,300,000 times which, when added up, equates to 141 years of viewing. Also this year, the Chopin Institute has prepared an app for mobile devices (iOS, Android) allowing to watch all the performances during the competition. For the first time, the performances by the participants may be viewed in 4K quality.

Emitel supports numerous cultural and arts events in Poland. It is a partner of the XVIII International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition, the most important musical event in Poland and one of the most important musical events in the world, postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, the Company was a partner of the exhibition “Józef Brandt 1841–1915” exposition, organised as part of the project “3 × Niepodległa” in the National Museum in Warsaw.

 

 

For over a year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no open-air festivals in Poland. One of the first events in which the audience will be able to take part live is the Pol’and’Rock Festival, organized by the Wielka Orkiestra Świątecznej Pomocy Foundation. In order to support the organization and improve the security of this event, Emitel will provide Internet access for the festival organizers and back-up facilities for the duration of the festival.

The 27th edition of the Pol’and’Rock Festival will take place on July 29-31, 2021 at the former Makowice airport, in the Płoty commune, in the Province of West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Many stars will perform there, incl. Dżem, Renata Przemyk, Kasia Kowalska, Pidżama Porno, Black River. The event will be able to host 20 thousand people. The festival will take the form of a hybrid – it will be available both to a limited audience present on the site and to viewers following its course on the Internet.

– We are glad that, as a technological partner, we will, pro bono, support such an important cultural event as the Pol’and’Rock Festival. As part of the dedicated Eminet Global service, we will provide festival organizers with reliable Internet access, with a guarantee of the highest quality. Our high-altitude infrastructure, which consists of over 500 telecommunications towers and masts, allows us to provide services throughout Poland. Thanks to this, we can quickly and efficiently provide Internet access at the festival site – says Maciej Staszak, Vice President of the Management Board of Emitel S.A.

The Internet access service provides our clients with a fast and reliable connection with global Internet resources for all short-term events, such as concerts, festivals or conferences. The service is provided with the use of a radio link operating in the licensed band. This solution works primarily where access to the cable infrastructure is limited, and it is important to launch the service quickly and efficiently. Additionally, due to the use of the point-to-point licensed band, the service is resistant to external interference, which increases its reliability.

Emitel supports many events in the field of culture and art in Poland. It is a partner of the 18th International Piano Competition of Fryderyk Chopin, the most important music event in Poland and one of the most important music events in the world, postponed from 2020 to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, the Company was a partner of the exhibition “Józef Brandt 1841–1915”, organized as part of the “3 × Independent” project at the National Museum in Warsaw.