Italy has decided to auction digital television frequencies, scrapping a decision by the former government to give them away, writes daily la Repubblica Tuesday, citing Industry Minister Corrado Passera.

"The next auction will be made up of frequencies with similar features," says Passera, according to the newspaper.

The government of Mario Monti, which in November replaced that of Silvio Berlusconi, had set April 20 as a deadline for deciding what to do with the digital TV frequencies.

Newspaper website: www.repubblica.it

-By Rome Bureau, Dow Jones Newswires, +39 06 6976 6920