Conroy: NBN to bring hundreds of TV channels to Australia
Communications Minister, Senator Stephen Conroy, has predicted the national broadband network (NBN) will bring hundreds of TV channels to Australia and flagged a consequential need for radical change in the media sector’s regulatory framework.
The comments were made during a panel discussion session on the benefits of the NBN at an Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) lunch in Sydney.
In response to a question on how the NBN would affect the media sector’s regulatory framework, Conroy, pointed to IPTV providers in Hong Kong as an example of the kind of threat to incumbent TV providers that will force change.
“Convergence has happened. The broadband network is going to radically reshape the media sector,” Conroy said. “Some get it a lot, some don’t quite get it yet and some have been in a position of privilege for some time and had competition kept away from them. But broadband network IPTV [will bring] hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of channels of choice for consumers. That is going to force a radical change.”
As the NBN is based on a fibre-to-the-premises (fttp) approach that can handle the bandwidth demands of IPTV, existing regulations such as the 75/25 rule – where broadcasters are not allowed to reach more than 75 per cent of the population – will need to be reworked, Conroy said, adding he was already participating in discussions with these issues in mind.
“IPTV is an international phenomenon. Hong Kong IPTV, if you can get it connected up is just unbelievable. It is a threat not just to free to air networks it is a threat to existing, incumbent pay networks,” Conroy said. “It has a slice and dice [approach] – you can take an hour, you can take a genre, you can take a week, you can take a package of anything you want and slice and dice it any way you want. So there are enormous challenges to our media sector coming through the broadband revolution. The regulation is going to have to find a way to move, change, adopt or be got rid of as that new environment is there.”
The minister’s comments were also recently echoed by Alcatel-Lucent Asia-Pacific futurologist, Geof Heydon.
“If you said to me, in 20 years time what would be the way we are watching broadcast TV, the answer would be on the fibre network. There won’t be any terrestrial TV anymore – there just won’t be any reason to have it. There will be a migration to fully digital and then I think a migration to fibre-based delivery for everybody,” he told ARN in a recent interview.
Comments
No Limits.
Eventually there will be no download limits and ratings will not mean a thing. There are just too many people in the world who want to corrupt our future. online casino
How will the IPTV channels fit into the "clean feed"
It seems that Conroy has forgotten he is also proposing to filter the internet, to save our kiddies/us from RC material.
How will our current rating system (and staff thereof) cope with also having to view and rate all the programming coming through on IPTV?
You can't open the flood gates and then try to hold some of the water back.
People talk such drivel in these forums!
@ 11/07/2009 12:43 Anonymous
You say "We are a country stuck in the middle of the ocean, and the only way we are getting data is by expensive underwater cables to other countries.
These countries charge us by the data, and that is where our download limits come from, as our ISP's need to flow the charges from the data companies to the customers - us."
Not true. The cables are owned by consortia that have a large Australian share. And they pay for overall bandwidth, not by the number of bytes transmitted. And out of your $50/month plan, the cost is a couple of bucks.
And as for your 10GB/month plan, I suggest you move. I'm getting 120GB/month from iiNet - that's equivalent to around eight hours a day of fair quality DivXes!
''Our download limits arent
''Our download limits arent based on Telstra, they are based on the fact that we get charged from international data links''. As the tv channels will be inside aus there is no need for international traffic it will all be local
Fibre optic induced digital drugs?
You are talking futuristic - but maybe, not far enough..?
Read the books by John C. Wright: The Golden Age (books 1-3)
Telstra heavily influence
Telstra heavily influence pricing by either owning or part owning most international links to Oz. Maybe Telstra should have another look at their peering policy or lack of, not just internationally but nationally as well.
So by the time the whole NBN
So by the time the whole NBN is rolled out there won't be any more international pipes or Australian companies that have created their own IPTV (or any other) services that don't need to send the programs across those pipes?
I'm not discounting your point - it's very valid - but I think you can't make such a definitive conclusion without considering the potential for future developments to change the competitive landscape.
Global IPTV
For this to work we have to have a globalisation that benefits the consumer not just the corporations. So far we haven't even gotten beyond such restraint of trade tricks as DVD and Blu-Ray regional codes.
If there really is to be a global economy why should't I get US subscription TV such as HBO delivered to direct to me over the internet?
As to how it could be done economically, I would suggest unmetered ISP gateways.
Remote people will have to accept that if you want the benefits of living far away from everyone else, you need to take the bad with the good.
Our download limits arent
Our download limits arent based on Telstra, they are based on the fact that we get charged from international data links.
We are a country stuck in the middle of the ocean, and the only way we are getting data is by expensive underwater cables to other countries.
These countries charge us by the data, and that is where our download limits come from, as our ISP's need to flow the charges from the data companies to the customers - us.
Telstra may be a middle man in all of that at some point, but ultimately, it comes down to us being an in-the-middle-of-nowhere country that relies on data pipes from other countries - who charge us.
And for that reason still, IPTV wont be huge here, because we will still be stuck with stupid 10gb a month plans, even on 100mb FTTP connections.
Countries that have
Countries that have IPTV:
Japan
France
Hong Kong (China)
UK
USA
Taiwan
Korea
Italy
Sweden
Belgium
Spain
Singapore
And there are many others in the works
As for the comments about download limits - you are seriously pre-judging what the competitive environment will be like. The plans we have now are heavily influenced by Telstra being both a wholesaler and retailer. Until we know what exactly will run over the NBN - possibly including consumer broadband, commercial traffic, Defence force use, IPTV services, healthcare, education and others like scientific research applications - and our own economic circumstances and how well NBNco is run, we can't with any confidence say exactly how much we will pay or whether there will be download limits.
In any case, concerns about download limits and consumer connection prices miss the point entirely. The NBN is about enabling so many other parts of the economy - TV, which is currently a heavily protected sector, is just one example of potential new business and choice for the public.
alternatives
I'm aware of the two alternatives to fibre but they won't handle the extra traffic as well.
Only one problem with this
Is Conroy also suggesting we will have unlimited download limits? How else will this work.
Isn't it great to have someone with no idea in charge.
"All the gear, and no idea"
broadband
Senator Conroy might think what he is proposing is the greatest, but apart from Hong Kong, very small place, where else in the world does it exist. By the time he gets it all sorted there will have been a change of gov and the Libs will want to try it their way.
New channels - same old content
Meh, we might have 100 channels delivered by fiber, but there's still basically going to be 3 things worth watching on tv...
from what i read people out
from what i read people out in the isolated areas will get wireless or satellite Fiber is only for the areas classed as metro
Fibre TV???
It won't happen - the government filter will remove all but the 'politically correct/sanctioned/G-rated' programs, leaving us with a steady diet of Playschool and The Wiggles.
OMG
So if I was at a club and I spent all my credits on the pokies... what would happen? WouldI just die on the spot?
Fibre Optic Induced Digital Drugs
Not that far in the future we'll all be nipped, chipped and plugged into the mainframe we wont even have to have redundant technology like digital screens. It will all be inside our heads and your thoughts can be transferred to central bank nodes where you can make all your transactions in the convenience of your own thoughts, no matter when or where you are. In fact, all your life affairs will be managed inside your head; like paying bills, banking and planning your retirement and so on - all conveniently done without having to lift a finger. There will even be a feature to switch your subconscious thought to autopilot where all those tedious affairs like managing bank balances or even planning your funeral can all be done automatically without you even having to think about it. No more worrying when the red lights go on if your life credits are running short! Who wants to know when death is just around the corner when you can go out with a bang - enjoying every day like it is your last!
You better get your digital
You better get your digital as there won't be analogue in a couple years. Why couldn't it be, 20 years is a long time, i would expect huge development in transmission by then.
Poor folks with bad TV reception now
Fibre delivering all TV? Lots have no digital coverage yet. Many can't get get analogue coverage. Who will pay for remote or isolated communities and/or people to be connect to fibre?
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