THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has invited the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and the entire broadcast industry to take part in formulating the guidelines for digital and mobile television services.

The Neda and 48 other broadcasting firms are the new members of the technical working group (TWG) tasked to assist the NTC in crafting the rules and regulations that will govern the conduct of implementation of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) technology in the country.

The composition of the group was initially limited to TV giants ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. and GMA Network Inc. They are joined by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), Society of Broadcast Engineers and Technicians (SBETP) and the NTC.

Besides these groups, the NTC has included the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), Neda and 48 other broadcasting firms all over the country in the TWG.

 Industry sources said the last-minute changes in the TWG membership are necessary in order to address the concerns of the affected parties, who said the guidelines should have been issued first by the NTC before the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. Group started offering mobile TV service.

The TWG will hold on Friday its first meeting. It will be chaired by NTC deputy commissioner Jaime Fortes.

The NTC should declare first what technology the country will be adapting for digital TV and mobile TV services. Although it had announced last year that it was recommending Europe’s DVB-T digital TV standard to provide robust signal for both fixed and mobile receivers, the NTC will also consider America’s Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) and Japan’s Integrated Services Digital Broadcast (ISDB).

NTC commissioner Abraham Abesamis said the new TWG will study further the socioeconomic impact of adapting a new DTT technology. The group shall also hold demonstration and propagation tests of each of the competing standards being used in other countries.

“The NTC likewise enjoins consumer welfare groups or associations to take part in this endeavor. As an affected party or operator to the impending transition of all TV networks from analog to digital, we are fully aware that [Neda] will be able to contribute substantially in the selection of a national DTT standard and in the formulation of a general policy that is both appropriate for our broadcast industry and beneficial to the viewing public,” said Abesamis.

According to NTC deputy commissioner Jorge Sarmiento, new guidelines on DTT will be crafted very soon. “We need to formulate the rules as soon as possible. During the public hearing last year, there were so many concerns. It is time to address these concerns,” he said.

NTC broadcast division head Ariel Padilla said the TWG can likely formulate the guidelines in one month, or sooner.

Malacañang earlier recommended to the NTC four representatives of government television stations to be included to the TWG.

Conrado Limcaoco, Jr., PIA secretary,  nominated Richard Valdez, government TV coordinator at NBN-4; Dindo Halog, chief engineer, NBN-4; Pete Dayao, chief engineer, IBC-13; and Rene Allarde, chief engineer, RPN-9 as members of the TWG.

The compulsory transition of all analog TV service providers to digital TV and for the termination of all analog TV broadcast transmissions are to take effect by 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2015, the NTC earlier proposed.

Under the draft rules, channels 14 to 20 (470-512 Megahertz) will be allocated for national DTT networks and channels 21 to 51 (512-698MHz) for local networks.

In allocating the frequencies for digital terrestrial television or DTT services, the NTC promotes the UHF (ultra-high frequency) signals as best suited for carrying DTT signals when compared with VHF (very high frequency) bandwidths.

“While DTT signals can be carried on the VHF bands, the latter is more susceptible to man-made interference than the UHF band,” said the NTC.

The NTC has received applications from GV Broadcasting Systems Inc., ABS-CBN, GMA, Associated Broadcasting Corp., National Broadcasting Corp., Christian Era Broadcasting to offer digital TV service.

Smart Communications Inc. and 360Media Corp., the investment vehicle of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund, are already offering mobile TV service. Rival Globe Telecom also has plans to offer the same service in the future.

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THE National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has invited the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and the entire broadcast industry to take part in formulating the guidelines for digital and mobile television services.

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