Philippines issues updated digital TV transition regulations for consultation

QUEZON CITY — The Philippines National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has released a draft of revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the transition to digital terrestrial television broadcasting (DTTB) in the country.

The NTC is proposing to rule that:

• The ISDB-T standard shall be the sole standard in the delivery of DTTB in the country.
• The frequency bands, 512-698MHz (Channels 21-51) are allocated for DTTB.
• A bandwidth of 6MHz shall be assigned for each authorised DTTB service per service area.
• Where it is technically feasible, single frequency network (SFN) shall be allowed.
• A common middleware shall be used for the smooth implementation of an Emergency Warning Broadcast System (EWBS) function.
• The transition to digital broadcasting shall be based on a transition plan formulated by the NTC in consultation with the broadcast industry.
• All analogue TV broadcasting shall be terminated on the analogue switch-off date specified in the plan.
• Dealers of new TVs shall indicate on each television set whether it can receive analogue signals only and will require a set-top box, or if it can receive ISDB-T programmes directly.

A public hearing on is to be held on September 12, 2014 in Quezon City.