An official ceremony has taken place in Kherson region's Chonhar village to open a telecommunications tower that will allow test digital broadcasting of Ukrainian television and radio programming to Russian-occupied Crimea.

The completion of the facility set the stage on Friday for a test digital transmission to Crimea for analyzing the strength of the signal, the Ukrainian Information Police Ministry's press service reported on Friday.

"Currently six Ukrainian television and radio companies are broadcasting to the peninsula," the ministry's press service said.

The radio station Krym.Realii also began working in test mode on 105.9 MHz with a 5 kW transmitter. The station will start normal broadcasting at the end of May. Ukrainian Radio on 100.7 MHz, 2Meydan2 radio on 101.4 MHz and Kherson FM2 on 107.8 MHz are also broadcasting to Crimea.

The height of the tower is 150 meters, but a competition will be held to raise it to 200 meters to enable digital television broadcasts.

In addition, the television and radio broadcaster tower in Chaplynka will be raised from 92 meters to 110 meters this year.

"We are also considering the possibility of building another broadcasting tower on the administrative border with Crimea. During the course of the year the number of radio stations which can reach Crimea will be doubled," the ministry's press service quoted Information Policy Minister Yuriy Stets as saying.

Chairman of Ukraine's National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council Yuriy Artemenko said during the upcoming weeks the regulator will receive digital radio broadcasting frequencies from Ukraine's state radio frequencies center, and will "announce a competition for space in the Chonhar multi-complex" next month.

As per the results of the competition, from four to six Ukrainian television and radio companies will broadcast their programs to Crimea.