Mobile TV in the Philippines is in danger… the Philippine Cable Television Association (PCTA) has asked the National Telecommunications Commission to shut down the DVB-H service offered by telco Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT). The complaint is that “the value-added service to mobile phone subscribers is anti-competition and infringes on its members’ broadcast permits”. Anyway, the NTC has given the telco a hearing so it can justify continuing the service, reports AHN. In contrast, Sun Star has a bit more detail and states the problem is that only cable companies are legally allowed to charge for TV. The real problem is that the NTC hasn’t gotten around to creating regulations for mobile TV, and PLDT actually delayed the commercial launch of the service which was scheduled on August 31st. The myTV service was delayed until October 15th but that date has also passed, and I’m unclear whether the company just got sick of waiting and began charging for the service or is still offering the service free until such time as regulations are formed.
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