Converge affiliate to roll out satellite TV

A Pampanga-based broadcasting company is ready to roll out its nationwide free-to-air TV service, providing more options for viewers in remote areas.

In a statement on Tuesday, Reliance Broadcasting Unlimited Inc. (RBU) said it would be selling its set-top boxes for interested customers “soon.”

Through RBU, viewers will be able to access channels such as PTV, GMA, RPTV, GTV, All TV and other channels.

Its direct-to-home (DTH) service is powered by Korean satellite communications leader KT SAT, which also has operations in Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Pakistan. Satellite technology enables connectivity in remote areas where it is challenging to build land-based infrastructure like cell towers.

“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.

RBU secured its DTH license from the National Telecommunications Commission last year.

The company said its DTH service complements the fiber internet product offered by its affiliate Converge ICT Solutions Inc., which also has its roots in Pampanga. The Internet provider provides connectivity through its 700,000-kilometer fiber cable network across the country.

The country has seen the entry of several foreign satellite internet players in the country after granting tech mogul Elon Musk’s Starlink Internet Services Philippines license to operate as an internet service provider in 2022.

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California-based Astranis also aims to offer services this year to 2 million Filipinos. The American technology company seeks to establish connectivity in over 5,000 locations in the country initially and it hopes to deploy more for wider coverage.

Intelsat, a US-based satellite and terrestrial network company, is working with the Department of Information and Communications Technology in establishing internet connection in rural areas.

Other players like Luxembourg-based connectivity solutions firm SES and local technology startup Quicksilver Satcom Ventures also previously expressed interest in providing connectivity services in the country.