Philippines sets out DTV migration plan

The Philippines is to switch to digital terrestrial television (DTT) within the next three to five years, says the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

The migration plan will be drafted as soon as a memorandum is adopted implementing DTT rules and regulations, according to NTC’s Gamaliel Cordoba.

The NTC has called for stakeholders to respond by 22 September to proposed guidelines, following a recent public hearing about the transition to digital TV, based on Japan’s Integrated Service Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial (ISDB-T) standard.

The proposals require that analogue VHF TV operators – including channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 13 –must simulcast their DTT broadcast service through UHF channels for one year, Rapid TV News reports.