PCTA Convention 2009: A Landmark Event

 

Amidst heightened anticipation by both industry stakeholders and watchers, the Philippine Cable Television Association (PCTA) staged another successful annual convention last March 11 to 13, 2009 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. The 17th PCTA Convention showed that it had so much more to offer than previous editions, another proof that the PCTA is constantly working and endeavoring to make the convention even better year after year. With the support of the entire PCTA Board, Convention Chairman Philip Chien and the PCTA Convention Committee truly lived up to everyone's expectations.

exhibit booth

Excitement began even before the convention has formally opened. On March 10th, the eve of the opening, the traditional PCTA Golf Tournament held at Riviera Golf and Country Club in Cavite, and chaired by PCTA Director Jose Lobregat, drew in more sponsors and participants than ever before. At the SMX Convention Center, a Pre-convention session was likewise held in the afternoon highlighting Corporate Social Responsibility, a core topic in line with the this year's theme, Cable TV: Making the BIG Difference. Acclaimed speakers from the academe, cable industry, and allied companies such as Prof, Felipe Alfonso (AIM), Ms. Maureen Aquino (Satellite Cable Network Inc.), Ms. Marivic Gamo (Cisco Systems) and book author Atty. Alexander Lacson took time to discuss both corporate and individual social responsibility topics that inspired all the attendees. Ms. Marga Ortigas of AlJazeera Network further added luster to the stellar line-up being the moderator of the panel session.

THE "PREMIER" SHOW OPENS

The expansive SMX Convention Center, the newest and most modern convention venue in the country, was a fitting venue to this landmark event. With Vice President Noli "Kabayan" De Castro as keynote speaker, the excitement level expectedly raised another notch on the opening day. Vice President De Castro talked about the role of the cable industry in the development of a well-informed and culturally-refined citizenry, and he mentioned in turn, how the government could help it through the legislative process. In closing, he said that the cable TV industry can make a big difference in the country and he enjoined everyone to share on a common vision to attain it. (See page 2 for the full text of Vice President De Castro's speech).

The opening ceremony ended with the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the exhibit graced by former Senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr., Mr. Chien, PCTA President Allan Dungao, and special guests.

EXCITING EXHIBITS

Forty-five international and local companies took part in the exhibits, which included program providers, technical suppliers, and service providers. Of special interest were the attractive presentations of the major sponsors of the convention, namely, Platinum Sponsor Solar Entertainment Network, Gold Sponsors TBN Asia, AlJazeera Network, and SES New Skies, and Silver Sponsors HBO Asia, Cable Boss, Conax AS, TV5 Monde Asia, Home Shopping TV Network, and Deutsche Welle. Celebrity star power, big raffle prizes, and unique giveaways lured and kept all the delegates on their toes inside the exhibit hall throughout the event.

INSIGHTFUL TALKS

Plenary presentations and discussions were a standing-room affair at the conference hall as new technologies were presented and discussed by international experts and technocrats. The topics centered on IPTV, DTH, and Digital Terrestrial TV. The government, represented by the NTC and the IPO, likewise discussed the role of the state and the government plans on certain technology issues and concerns. Industry stakeholders also presented business opportunities that would benefit the industry in the coming years such as internet via satellite and digital headend in the sky. Content provisioning and cable advertising were also presented to the delegates. Simultaneously, the PCTA Technical Committee held technical sessions that discussed headend and outside plant preparation, equipment selection, and implementation for digital migration, together with conditional access, set-top box management, and value added services.

The day's speakers included Mr. Alexandre Muller (TV5 Monde), Deputy Commissioner Jorge Sarmiento (NTC), Mr. Steve Christian (Verimatrix), Mr. Yongsub Lee (Cisco Systems International), Mr. Elias Zaccack (SES New Skies), Mr. Jerry Park (Irdeto), Mr. Norman Gillaspie (Transparent Video Systems), Deputy Commissioner Jaime Fortes (NTC), Mr. Leo San Miguel (ACCION), Mr. John Medeiros (CASBAA), Atty. Louie Calvario (IPO), Mr. Kevin Dickie (Discovery Asia), Mr. Jonathan Spinks (HBO Asia), Mr. Matthew Oh (SES New Skies), Mr. Chris Giacomelli (Harmonic Asia Pacific), Ms. Baby Zarate (Cable Boss), Mr. Jude Turquato (Solar Entertainment), Engr. Michael Nestor Martir (Sky Cable), Engr. Ruben Anasarias (Sky Cable), Mr. Rick Baron (CISCO Systems International), Engr. Homer Bertol (PCT-Goodbridge), Engr. Norberto Tan (Cable Access Technologies), and Engr. Eduard Cheng (Ricklee Enterprises).

A management session on the last day with Mr. Carlo Katigbak (Sky Cable) and Mr. Francisco Magsaysay (Asian Vision Cable Holdings) as panelists discussed the different challenges facing the cable industry and presented different methods and value-added services that will improve income. Ms. Veronica Pedrosa of Al Jazeera Network was the moderator of the session.

WINNERS: CABLELYMPICS

Another anticipated event in the convention is the Cablelympics, a quiz-show type competition participated in by technical personnel from different cable companies in the country. This year, 11 cable companies fielded contestants who answered questions in three stages. In the end, Mr. Dindo Amoyo of Negros Cable TV emerged as the champion, besting 29 other contestants for the award. Second and third place winners respectively were Mr. Noel Gotos of Satellite Cable Network Inc. and Mr. Erwin Tagalo of Fil Products-Ozamis. Cablelympics is a brainchild of PCTA Technical Committee co-chairmen Fernando Morales and Julian Ventura and was conceived to test the mettle of participating technicians. The winners received medals and cash prizes, while all contestants received t-shirts from PCTA.

PCTA LOYALTY AWARDS

Thirty-one regular members and six affiliate members received the coveted PCTA Loyalty Awards for their continuous membership to the association. These companies are:

15 YEARS

10 YEARS

5 YEARS

AFFILIATE MEMBERS:

15 YEARS

10 YEARS

5 YEARS

 

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