Philippines: TV Standard Rules May Be Out In Q1

bworldonline.com reports that the Phillipine government could finish the migration plan for the implementation of the Japanese digital television standard as early as this quarter, an official said.

National Telecommunications Commission Commissioner Gamaliel A. Cordoba said in a chance interview yesterday that the technical working group has started drafting the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for the new standard.

“Right now we are already putting all together the implementing rules and regulations. We are doing that with all the stakeholders, composed of government agencies, broadcasters, cable operators, and networks,” Mr. Cordoba said.

“We need to thresh out every issue that might come out before we could finish the IRR, which we expect to finish by the first or second quarter of this year,” he explained.

This means that right after the issuance of the migration plan, the implementation of the technology will follow.

When ISDB-T is fully implemented, consumers will have to buy a digital set-top box — mainly used to receive digital television signals — which would cost about P1,000.

But, despite the second quarter deadline, Mr. Cordoba said that the government cannot meet the 2015 implementation deadline announced earlier.

“If we start implementing the new standard in 2013, it will be too short a time for the people to adapt to the new technology by 2015. We have to give them ample time for the shift,” he said.

Read more at http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Economy&title=TV-standard-rules-may-be-out-in-Q1&id=81931