Smash Communications Ltd has accused the Malta Communications Authority of being unreasonable when it failed to assign the company a frequency for digital broadcast.

In a judicial application filed yesterday, Smash Communications Ltd, owners of Smash TV, claimed that the company was not allowed to broadcast in digital format as it was not assigned a frequency to do so.

“Smash Communications Ltd was one of the first television stations to invest in the latest technological equipment but was stopped from broadcasting in this format by the MCA,” the application alleged.

The current analogue system being used is to be phased out by 2010, according to the law. The company claimed that the authority is only allocating frequencies to service providers, including Multiplus and Maltacom.

The application claimed that by not assigning a frequency to Smash Communications, the authority discriminated against the company and failed to respond when Smash Communications requested a frequency. This was why the case was taken to court.

The application was filed by Dr Jose Herrera and Dr Jason Azzopardi in the first hall of the Civil Court.