NTC endorses Japanese digital TV technology for PHL again

The National Telecommunications Commission has once more endorsed to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) the adoption of the Japanese Integrated Service Digital Broadcasting-Terrestrial (ISDB-T) standard when the Philippines migrates from analog to digital terrestrial television, scheduled for 2015. According to NTC commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba, the agency has opted for the Japanese standard as it is less expensive than Europe's Digital Video Broadcasting-Terrestrial 2 (DVB-T2) and also has an integrated early warning system for natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons. The European version does not have the early warning technology. Cordoba also said that the agency already endorsed the Japanese standard to the DOTC in December. In 2010, the NTC issued an order adopting ISDB-T as the standard, and was set to issue the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for digital TV that year when Malacañang ordered a review. In 2012, Malacañang commissioned the Information and Communications Technology Office to draft a migration plan to help it decide which standard to use. The ICTO said the Japanese standard is more appropriate, as its European counterpart has a higher modulation and has more complicated modulation techniques. The Kapisanan ng mga Brokaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) has also endorsed the adoption of the Japanese standard for the Philippines. — BM, GMA News