Tower of Power (transmitter)

Tower of Power
Tower of Power
General information
Type	Communications tower
Location	Quezon City, Philippines
Coordinates	14°40′10.62″N 121°03′00.22″E
Construction started	October 7, 1987
Completed	October 1988
Opening	November 7, 1988
Owner	GMA Network Inc.
Height
Antenna spire	236.8 m (777 ft)

Tower of Power is a 777 ft (236.8 m), 100,000 watt[1] TPO communications tower of GMA Network located in Tandang Sora, Barangay Culiat, Quezon City. It serves as a transmitter facility for GMA's flagship stations: the main channel's DZBB-TV 7 (digital UHF 15), GMA News TV's DWDB-TV 27, and Barangay FM's DWLS 97.1 MHz.[2]

History

The Tower of Power was constructed on a huge vacant lot in the 3rd Quarter of 1987, as a new edifice for the network and for the preparation for Rainbow Satellite broadcast to replace an old surplus 50-kilowatt transmitter located at the old RBS building (now known as GMA Network Center) in EDSA, and to clear TV and FM reception. The tower's construction uses 600 tons of steel from a local steel mill, costing PHP 170 Million pesos for the building of this tower. Antennas are also provided to enhance signal strength. After several months of planning, the tower completed in October 1988 and on November 7, 1988, the tower was opened by then-President Corazon Aquino and the GMA Network board of directors. A grand TV special was started after the inauguration. The slogan GMA-7-POWER was used from November 7 to December 1, 1988 as a station ID.

In 2005, following its signing of a channel lease agreement with ZOE Broadcasting Network's flagship DZOE-TV 11, GMA replaced channel 11's decommissioned 40 kW transmitter in Pasig with a newly purchased 100 kW transmitter system built and installed by GMA. Since channel 7's technical staff is prohibited by law from operating channel 11 due to the fact that both stations are in the same VHF channel band, the Tower of Power site leased portions of its space to Zoe for its own technical team to operate and maintain channel 11's signal. ZOE's 14-year lease in the site ended in mid-2019 following GMA's decision not to renew the agreement amid the company's increasing lease payment obligations to channel 11's owners. ZOE's 100kW transmitter equipment was later transferred to its own compound in Antipolo City, which was eventually reused when channel 11 was relaunched as A2Z Channel 11 in October 2020.

Features

The tower

The Tower of Power uses its high-gain corner reflector antennas and UHF panel antennas to produce a wide coverage of Analog (VHF TV and UHF TV, using the NTSC format) and Digital (ISDB-T) TV reception in Metro Manila, Region 3 (Central Luzon) and 4-A (Calabarzon). It is including Bulacan, Pampanga, Zambales, Tarlac, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, Quezon, Aurora and Rizal in both grades A and B for the broadcasts of DZBB-TV and DWDB-TV.

For FM radio, DWLS's signal strength utilized by a circular bay Jampro FM antenna provides listeners with clear FM reception of 25 kilowatts and to spread out in Metro Manila and nearby provinces as well.

It also serves as a repeater of GMA News TV for transmissions in Cebu and Davao to relay Channel 27's programmes.

The transmitter facility

The transmitter facility houses television and FM radio transmitters for DZBB-TV, DWDB-TV and DWLS containing sets of transmitter equipment imported by Harris and RCA of the United States, and JVC of Japan. At the same time, the satellite downlink facility housed all satellite broadcasts directly to the United States and other countries to produce foreign programmes.

References

Gonzales, Joseph Ignatius Bengzon (2007). Blue way: case studies on leadership, strategy, and ethics. Published and exclusively distributed by Anvil Pub. p. 51. ISBN 9789712719332. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
Pres. Aquino switched GMA-7's 'Power Tower, Manila Standard, November 7, 1988