The target by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to achieve full migration from analog television to digital terrestrial television (DTT) will not likely be achieved this year, as digital TV penetration in the provinces is still below 50 percent.
“We’re looking at this year but it’s still tentative,” Ella Lopez, NTC commissioner, recently told reporters when asked if the analog shutoff will push through this year as scheduled.
The original target was to shift to digital in 2020.
In 2010, the country started its migration from analog to DTT broadcast service with the issuance of Memorandum Circular 02-06-2010 on the “Standard for DTT Broadcast Service” adopting Japan’s ISDB-T platform.
Initially, the government targeted to shut down the analog TV within five to 10 years but the schedule was moved as the target digital penetration rate has yet to be met.
In Metro Manila, digital penetration is high, but in the provinces, it is still below 50 percent, according to Lopez.
NTC will pursue the analog shutoff but this will depend on the penetration of digital TV among households, which must be digital ready.
Once NTC pursues the full implementation of DTT in the country, households without set up boxes or a DTT tuner installed could no longer use their TVs to watch free TV channels.
In a related development, Anna Mae Lamentillo, Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) undersecretary, said during the Laging Handa briefing the recent signing of memorandum of cooperation (MOC) with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) of Japan supports the country’s digital agenda, including the transition to DTT broadcast migration program.
DICT and MIC are expected to cooperate in the improvement of broadband infrastructure and service provision in the Philippines; diversification of 5G suppliers and development of open, secure and resilient 5G network; development of capacity-building programs for cybersecurity; and the reinforcement of their previous areas of cooperation such as Digital Transformation, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, and cultural relationships through broadcasting content.
Further, the MOC will strengthen cooperation between the two countries for the smooth transition to DTT broadcasting and for the utilization of the Emergency Warning Broadcasting System in the Philippines.
