GMA Network Inc. said Tuesday it will initially invest P416 million for its digital terrestrial television services rollout.
The broadcast network said the amount would cover three high-powered transmitters and their related antenna and connectivity requirements, a fully-mirrored head-end system which is a master facility for grouping and digitally encoding programs.
GMA is adopting the Japanese DTV standard or ISDB-T in compliance with the rules and regulations of the National Telecommunications Commission.
“Considering the increasing number of ISDB-T ready homes in the country, we are now prepared to exit the test phase and begin with the first part of our DTT rollout in Mega Manila. We are replicating the same level of superiority and consistency that we have exhibited in our analog signal as we shift to digital,” GMA chairman and chief executive Felipe Gozon said.
GMA president and chief operating officer Gilberto Duavit Jr. said all technical back-end requirements related to the rollout were ready, including the media asset management and broadcast automation systems.