PLDT unit offers direct-to-home satellite TV

MANILA, Philippines - MediaScape, a subsidiary of telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) has launched its direct-to-home (DTH) satellite television service under the brand name Cignal with an initial investment of $10 million.

MediaScape head Orlando Vea said they have covered the whole country in terms of signal. The recent soft launch of Cignal covers several provinces in Luzon, focusing on areas that still do not have cable TV access. In the next few months, the company plans to offer high definition pay TV.

MediaScape is a unit of MediaQuest Holdings which, in turn, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund.

PLDT acquired MediaScape, formerly GV Broadcasting Systems, Inc. in July 2007. It is licensed to offer DTH service and is currently providing on a trial basis Europe’s handheld-mobile TV service in partnership with Smart Communications.

Vea said MediaScape will not be teaming up with any other entity for the offering of DTH service. An earlier plan to enter into a joint venture with EchoStar Communications Corp., the largest DTH satellite television provider in the US, fizzled out.

Earlier, PLDT officials revealed they have tapped SES New Skies of Netherlands as MediaScape’s transponder provider for its DTH service. Transponders are satellite receivers and transmitters that relay the signals received back to Earth.

MediaScape will utilize the NSS-11 satellite of SES for its impending DTH satellite TV service to provide optimal coverage directly to its target markets.

NSS-11 satellite is currently home to a number of Chinese, Indian and Korean language TV channels and pay TV platforms. The satellite provides high-powered coverage which enables a full range of media and data applications, from DTH service to government communications and very small aperture terminal (VSAT) networks.

MediaScape’s DTH operation will initially offer 24 channels with content to be acquired from the content providers.

The PLDT Group’s foray into DTH service puts it in direct competition with Dream Broadcasting as well as with cable TV service providers. PLDT owns a minority stake in SkyCable, following the sale of the former’s Home Cable to the Lopez Group.

PLDT also announced that it is planning to roll out soon and implement the fiber-to-the-home (FTTH), a high-end service that promises better Internet access, by the middle of the year.

Meanwhile, Vea, who is also Smart Communications’ chief wireless advisor, revealed that following the success of their mobile virtual network operations (MVNO) in Italy, the group is now looking at two other countries in Europe. “We are also pursuing Macau and looking into Taiwan. Plans for MVNO in Japan are on hold due to problems with current regulations while entering the Middle East appears difficult also because of their MVNO regulations,” he said. MVNO allows Smart Communications to offer its services in other countries without actually building a network.