Reliance Broadcasting Unlimited Inc. (RBU), a broadcast company based in Pampanga, has secured a direct-to-home (DTH) license from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).
The DTH service will be powered by Korea’s satellite communications leader KT SAT which provides satellite capacity and the latest technology.
RBU can now broadcast free-to-air channels such as PTV, GMA, RPTV, GTV, All TV and 14 other ‘must carry’ channels even to the most remote areas in the country with the DTH license.
RBU is also working with various organizations to air public service announcements and education materials to all Filipinos from the northernmost provinces of Batanes and Ilocos to the southern Mindanao municipalities.
“It has been a challenge to provide information to our people because the Philippines is an archipelago with over 7,000 islands. With RBU pivoting into a DTH operator, we’ll 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,” RBU president Frank Martin Abalos said.
The NTC granted provisional authority to RBU late last year to provide DTH services throughout the Philippines.
RBU contracted KT SAT, a Korea-based satellite operator and a subsidiary of KT Corp. (formerly Korea Telecom), as its satellite technology solutions provider for the service.
KT Sat’s satellite resources cover more than 60 percent of the world’s land area, and provide satellite communication services not only in Korea but also throughout the world, including Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Pakistan.
RBU will soon roll-out set-top boxes for those who are interested in availing its services.
Abalos said the DTH service of RBU complements the fiber internet services of its affiliate, Converge ICT Solutions Inc., since RBU will be able to provide broadcasting services to remote areas that cannot be reached by fiber optic cables, using satellite technology.
Converge is the largest fiber-to-the-home fixed broadband operator in the country with its fiber footprint covering over 700,000 kilometers across the country.
