ARN

Digital TV boost for Western Australia

Around 80 per cent of West Australians will have access to all digital television channels by mid-2012.

Around 80 per cent of West Australians will have access to all digital television channels by mid-2012 as broadcasters install more transmitters in regional and remote areas, communications minister Stephen Conroy says.

Conroy said the federal government had provided $34 million over four years for commercial free-to-air broadcasters in remote and regional WA, regional South Australia and central Australia to deliver digital television.

He said the funding would help regional commercial stations install 51 transmitters so they could broadcast all digital television channels throughout regional and remote areas.

"The new transmitters will mean that by-mid 2012, 80 per cent of West Australians will have access to the full suite of digital television services — many for the very first time," Conroy said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The government welcomes the cooperation and assistance of regional commercial broadcasters in making the full benefits of digital TV available to their customers."

Four new sites in Western Australia were running, with eight more to be completed by the end of 2011, Conroy said.

Another 39 transmitters were set to be installed across the state by mid-2012, in advance of the digital TV switchover in two years.

Senator Conroy said the introduction of new equipment by the commercial broadcasters, along with the government's new Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) service, would allow viewers in remote areas and licence black spots to access all free-to-air digital television services.

Nominations for the 2012 ARN IT Industry Awards open on Tuesday, June 12.

More about: AST

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the ARN comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: digital tv, Western Australia
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to ARN's news, research and invitation only events.
ARN Distributor Directory
Find distributors by name | vendor | location
Channel Deals
/deals/avg/2009-09-18_71_become-an-avg-reseller
AVG (AU/NZ) Pty Ltd

Become an AVG Reseller and Make Serious Money!

More details »
ARN Vendor Directory
Find vendors by name | category

iAsset is a channel management ecosystem that automates all major aspects of the entire sales,marketing and service process, including data tracking, integrated learning, knowledge management and product lifecycle management.