MCMC picks Puncak Semangat to operate digital tv broadcast service in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 8, 2014): The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has selected Puncak Semangat Sdn Bhd (PSSB) as the successful bidder to build, operate and manage the infrastructure for digital terrestrial television broadcast (DTTB) service in Malaysia.
PSSB beat i-Media Broadcasting Solutions Sdn Bhd and Redtone Network Sdn Bhd to secure the bid.
"The proposal submitted by PSSB edged over the others in terms of its overall strategies, which was based on a comprehensive and detailed plan, and revealed to be a sustainable business model," MCMC said in a statement today.
PSSB is obligated to develop the DTTB infrastructure, which includes a digital multimedia hub and a network of high, medium and low-powered digital TV transmitters nationwide that are capable of carrying up to 45 standard-definition or 15 high-definition digital TV channels, for a start.
The initial migration to digital will be for current government-owned and private stations, namely TV1, TV2, TV3, ntv7, 8TV, TV9, TV Alhijrah and Bernama TV, according to the statement.
"The final mix of channels shall be determined commercially between the common integrated infrastructure provider and the broadcasters. The current radio channels can also be carried on the DTTB platform," it said.
The first roll-out of DTTB services is expected to be in the third quarter of 2014, starting in a few test areas.
Analogue broadcasting will be switched off once the full digital platform has been rolled out.
"This in turn will allow for the digital dividend to be reaped and thus pave the way for more high-speed mobile broadband services in the 700 MHz band," said the statement. – Bernama