Broadcast Enterprises and Affiliated Media (BEAM), Inc. continues to gear up for the Philippines’ shift from analog to digital television with its ongoing upgrade of infrastructure and facilities, including the purchase of new Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT)-ready transmitters. This is in line with the target of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to roll out DTT by 2015.
“We are committed to the national government’s digital television program as we continue to strengthen our DTT network and capabilities,” said BEAM President Steve Macion. “We are upgrading our DTT-ready headend and transmitter facilities in Cebu and Davao, and similar upgrades will be done for our Naga, Iloilo, Baguio and Zamboanga broadcast stations by 2015,” he added.
In addition, BEAM is also in the process of replacing its main 60 kW analog transmitter in Antipolo with a new, best-in-class DTT-ready transmitter. The new transmitter will be ready for service by the end of this year.
Macion said that these are part of the overall effort to build a commercial-grade broadcast network using the Integrated Services Digital Broadcast-Terrestrial (ISDB-T) standard.
The NTC, through a memorandum circular on the “Standard for DTT Broadcast Service” released in November last year, adopted Japan’s ISDB-T standard as the sole standard for the delivery of DTT in the Philippines. The ISDB-T is a flexible digital TV transmission system that is capable of providing audio, video and data services to fixed, mobile and handheld terminals without the need for an additional transmission facility. It also has an early warning system for earthquakes and typhoons.
The NTC circular was issued shortly after President Aquino’s announcement that the Philippines is migrating to Digital TV on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Brunei in October 2013.
BEAM is a broadcast company in the Philippines that operates Free-to-Air Channel 31. While BEAM’s primary focus is on UHF broadcasting, it is currently expanding its Digital Terrestrial Television platform for use in multimedia convergence.
