MANILA, Philippines — A Pampanga-based broadcast company affiliated with Converge ICT Solutions Inc. has received regulatory license to offer direct-to-home (DTH) services using satellite technology from South Korea.
Reliance Broadcasting Unlimited Inc. (RBU) yesterday said it has secured a DTH license from the National Telecommunications Commission, giving it authority to go nationwide.
RBU said the license allows it to broadcast free TV channels such as GMA, GTV, RPTV, PTV and ALLTV and reach even the remotest towns in the Philippines.
RBU president Frank Martin Abalos said the company will be selling set-top boxes soon to serve the DTH demand among Filipinos. For now, RBU is working with various groups to air public service announcements on a national scale.
In doing this, RBU has contracted South Korea’s KT SAT in its push to offer DTH services. KT SAT, a subsidiary of KT Corp., formerly Korea Telecom, handles a constellation of satellites that covers more than 60 percent of the world’s land area.
RBU will be leaning on KT SAT’s coverage in ensuring that its DTH network will reach even the farthest islands in the archipelago.
“It has been a challenge to provide information to all of our people because the Philippines is an archipelago with over 7,000 islands.”
“With RBU now pivoting into a DTH operator, we will be able to do our share in giving access to crucial public information to more Filipinos as we try to reach every island in the country,” he added.
Apart from this, Abalos said RBU entered the DTH segment to complement the fiber offering of its affiliate company, Converge. He explained that RBU plans to focus its marketing on areas that Converge struggles to serve.
Converge takes pride in being one of the leading broadband providers in the Philippines, but it is restricted by the terrestrial limits of fiber lines. When compared, satellites can beam connectivity from space onto the ground, allowing it to make contact even with the most isolated places.
Converge, on its own, is able to serve the TV demand through its free streaming outlet BlastTV and pay TV product Vision.
Although nothing yet is final, Converge owner Dennis Anthony Uy has expressed interest in buying out ABS-CBN unit Sky Cable Corp., which also used to sell DTH services until its parent lost its legislative franchise.
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