MILAN (Reuters) ? Italy's new industry minister, Corrado Passera, said on Sunday the previous government's plan to give away digital television frequencies for free was unacceptable while the country was going through tough times.
Under the plan by the former government of Silvio Berlusconi, broadcasters would parade their suitability in a "beauty contest" rather than bid in a competitive auction. But critics said the system would favour state broadcaster RAI, Telecom Italia Media and Berlusconi's own broadcaster, Mediaset.
"It is not tolerable that while we ask for sacrifices from Italians, (the frequencies) are assigned for free. It is very likely that we will not tolerate it," he told state-controlled channel Rai 3.
A possible auction could net the finance ministry up to 5 billion euros, Daily La Repubblica reported on Saturday, without citing sources.
News Corp subsidiary Sky Italia has already pulled out of the beauty contest, saying the process was too long and favoured incumbent operators.
However Passera, CEO of bank Intesa Sanpaolo until Mario Monti brought him into the new cabinet last month, did not say whether he would launch an auction in its place.
"It could be something slightly different. I have taken the commitment to look into the issue and make proposals," he said. "The frequencies could be used for new technologies and not necessarily for television."
(Reporting By Danilo Masoni; Editing by Ben Harding)
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