MYTV Digital TV service restored nationwide

Malaysia’s digital TV service, MYTV, had faced service interruption since October. It was reported that 20 broadcasting sites were shut down in various states due to a payment dispute with TM. 

The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia Malaysia has just issued a statement that the digital TV service has been restored nationwide. This includes Kelantan, Pahang, Terengganu, Negeri Sembilan, Perak, Melaka, Sabah and Sarawak.

According to the statement, the Minister of Communications and Multimedia had requested MCMC to solve the issue and there was a discussion between MCMC, MYTV and TM in the past few weeks. As a result, both MYTV and TM have agreed upon a solution to settle the commercial dispute. The Minister had also called upon all service operators to prioritise delivery of service to the Rakyat.

The move from analogue to digital TV broadcast is crucial for our mobile networks. The shutdown of analogue transmission will free up the 700MHz band which can be better utilised to increase LTE coverage. In theory, 700MHz can provide twice the coverage radius when compared to 1800MHz.  

Analogue TV in Malaysia was supposed to shut down by 30 June 2018 but it was postponed to Q1 2019. MYTV, which is owned by Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary was told to complete its digital TV rollout within the dateline or else they would face action from MCMC.

According to MYTV, they currently have 92.8% digital terrestrial television coverage and they are on track to deliver 95.3% coverage as committed to the government. They have also announced a new DTH (Direct to Home) service via satellite to provide 100% digital TV coverage to all Malaysians. 

At the moment, MYTV offers 13 channels in digital quality which include 3 HD channels and 4 radio stations. Below is the statement from MYTV.