Saturday, October 06, 2007 Smart brings mobile TV to Baguio
THE telecommunication giant SMART Communications, Inc. (Smart) and partner 360media Corp. (360media) have brought mobile TV to Baguio.
Ramon Isberto, head of Smart's Corporate Communications, said they have already installed two new transmitters in Baguio as part of the commercial roll-out of myTV in the north.
"Baguio City is one of our priority areas for myTV. To date, we have already installed two DVB-H transmitters in the city, and we'll be setting up more over the coming year," he added.
With two transmitters in place, myTV is now accessible in several barangays in Baguio City including BrooksPoint, Aurora Hill, Leonila Hill, Upper Sanitary Camp, Camdas Subdivision, Dizon Subdivision, Trancoville, Bokawkan Road, Palma-Urbano and Quezon Hill. The coverage also extends to Session Road, Baguio City Airport, Camp John Hay and SM Baguio.
Smart's newest mobile TV offering dubbed myTV enables mobile phone users to watch their favorite television programs anytime, anywhere. The service was launched in July and was initially available in Metro Manila, Cebu, Davao, Tagaytay and Batangas.
And will be made available soon in Boracay and Cagayan de Oro.
The service is being offered by MediaQuest Holdings subsidiary 360media in cooperation with Smart. myTV is being broadcast using the mobile TV platform called Digital Video Broadcasting -- Handheld or DVB-H.
"As we roll-out the additional transmitters, we will be able to cover more areas not only in Baguio, but also in Itogon and La Trinidad," Isberto added.
Danilo Mojica, head of the wireless consumer, said so far myTV is showing improvement since it was launched in July.
"Out take off rate is better than the post paid rate," he said.
myTV can be accessed using DVBH-capable handsets such as N92 and the upcoming N77.
On the other hand, Patrick Belina, access network head for Smart, said installing the transmitter for Baguio post a huge "challenge" because of it terrain.
"To ensure that subscribers will experience seamless, broadcast-quality viewing, we will be setting up multiple transmitters throughout the city," Belicena said.
Smart subscribers with mobile TV-capable handsets can now enjoy myTV's range of top-rated TV channels including 24-hour news channel CNN, music channel MTV Philippines, kid channel Cartoon Network, documentary channel National Geographic Channel, local movie channel Pinoy Box Office, the highly acclaimed The History Channel, Solar Sports, Basketball TV, ETC and Jack TV, the last four on test. (MSN/Sunnex)
