DTT service launch in Philippines by ABS-CBN

The Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) service TVplus has been launched this week by Philippines’s commercial broadcaster ABS-CBN, using the Japan’s Integrated Service Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial (ISDB-T) standard.

DTT trials have been conducted in more than 1000 households across the Philippines and it is reported that the Lopez-owned company has invested heavily in DTT technology since 2007. Subscribers will have access through a set-top box connected to their television set, to four premium free-to-air (FTA) digital channels and digital versions of its existing FTA channels.

This development in the broadcasting sector need to be regulated. In fact, in December 2014,  to ensure smooth transition from analogue to digital television (DTV) service, guidelines  were laid down by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).  In Philippines,  pursuant to the Regulations,  operators are authorised to  provide the digital service after having simulcast their DTT service together with the analogue TV service for a period of one year.

Prior to the launch, Miguel Mercado, ABS-CBN Head of Digital TV Marketing said that the viewing public in the Philippines will now be able to enjoy digital quality leaving  behind them issues of poor reception, grainy pictures and choppy audio.

Apart from the Philippines, other countries, mainly in Latin America, such as Brazil, Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Paraguay have also adopted for the Japanese ISDB-T DTT standard rather than Europe’s DVB-T2.