Mobile TV service can't go commercial yet, says NTC

By Riza T. Olchondra - Inquirer

THE FIRST commercial mobile TV service in the Philippines, myTV, may run into trouble with regulators.

Officials of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said companies planning to broadcast digital programs to TV sets or mobile devices cannot yet go commercial because the commission has yet to issue guidelines on digital TV programming.

"Our TWG (technical working group) has formulated its initial recommendations. What triggered the review were the industry inputs we got during a public hearing," Deputy Commissioner Jorge Sarmiento said.

NTC Commissioner Abraham Abesamis added that the TWG will start the review within the month and deputy commissioner Jaime Fortes said the group will try to draft the final rules quickly so that the NTC's 2015 deadline for the phaseout of analog TV programming will be followed.

Sarmiento added: "As for mobile TV broadcasts, there are test services now, and some may have the impression that these are already commercial, but they are not. They are just demos."

He was alluding to the myTV broadcasts offered by Smart Communications Inc. and sister company MediaQuest.

Subscribers are not yet being billed for the service, which has 10 test channels: CNN, MTV Philippines, Cartoon Network, National Geographic Channel, Pinoy Box Office, History Channel, Solar Sports, Basketball TV, ETC and Jack TV. Philippine Basketball Association games will also be broadcast live starting next season.

The commercial offering will be billed starting Sept. 1. Prepaid and postpaid subscribers will be charged P488 a month.

The service, dubbed myTV, will be available in "Mega Manila," Cebu, Davao, Tagaytay, Batangas and Baguio City. It will be rolled out soon in Cagayan de Oro and Boracay.

But MediaQuest president Orlando Vea said there should be no problem because the company was using the franchise of 360media to broadcast satellite services straight to the user.

"This is a direct-to-user satellite service, for which 360media has a license. There should be no problem," he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.

360media alone will be investing $50 million in the next three years.

About 60,000 to 70,000 subscribers are expected to try the service in the next few months.

"We expect a technology-neutral set of guidelines for digital TV," said Ray Espinosa, ePLDT president and board member of MediaQuest.