The martial law era also jump-started the beginnings of satellite broadcasts linking the entire country by ABS-CBN thru trial runs, and soon followed by RPN and MBS which started simulcasts of programs from Manila to the provinces across the country, followed on by GMA and BBC. Cable television also began at this time when the government, through the DPI, created the first true cable television firm, the Benedicto-owned Sining Makulay Inc., in the late 1970s, after years of trials which began in 1969.