Speaking at the opening keynote session of today’s ACMA Conference, Communications Minister Helen Coonan released a $20 million Digital Action Plan to help guide Australia’s transition to digital television and announced the formation of Digital Australia, an organisation within her department which will progress switchover to digital tv within the planned timescale between now and 2012.
In her speech Coonan told delegates: “As technology evolves, consumers are demanding always-on, anywhere access to their favourite content, whether it is on the television, their mobile phone or their computer. It is this passion for new services and improved technology that is driving the international switch to digital. Digital television is more efficient, more interactive, offers better picture and sound quality and delivers innovative new services to consumers. “
The frequencies freed up when analog tv is switched off will be used for digital radio, wireless broadband and other services, reaping what Coonan calls a “digital dividend.”
Ready, Get Set, Go Digital – A Digital Action Plan for Australia outlines key steps the Government will take on the road to digital switchover and includes the creation of Digital Australia, which will be tasked with coordinating the efforts of Government, industry, manufacturers, the regulator and consumers in the lead-up to switchover.
Digital tv takeup
While takeup of digital tv had been slow at first, the last year has seen greater acceptance of the new platform, with 29% of Australian households adopting digital free-to-air television since its introduction in January 2001, with uptake more than doubling since mid 2005. Combined with digital subscription television, approximately 41 per cent of Australian households have some form of digital television.
Community tv news not as good as hoped
As reported last week on radioinfo’s coverage of the CBAA conference, the community tv sector is unhappy that it was not included in the first round of digital tv. Today the minister announced some progress for that sector, but not as much as had been hoped by community broadcasters.
Coonan told the audience the government is encouraging community tv stations to work with existing operators to gain channel access, and that legislation will authorise community tv licencees to broadcast in digital. If negotiations fail to deliver access on existing digital platforms for community tv channels, Coonan says she will use the old analog 31 channels for digital transmission and force a ‘must carry’ requirement on the operators for the transmission of community tv.
The community tv sector is worried that there is no funding attached to these proposals and that they will be on the back foot when negotiating with digital channel providers for channel access.
Digital Radio
While the focus of this plan is on digital tv, there are fleeting references to digital radio in the document, but only three times.
Speaking in a later session, Macquarie Radio CEO Angela Clarke criticised the Digital Action plan for not focusing on digital radio too: “The radio industry is more local and serves more diverse audiences than television, yet is it disappointing to see that there is very little focus on helping consumers switch over to digital radio as well as digital tv.”
ACMA
Responding to Chris Chapman’s remarks about the new regulator’s success in uniting the old ABA and ACA, Senator Coonan joked that she was glad to see all the kids playing nicely together.
She reminded the audience that ACMA will play an essential role in planning for the next stage of digital broadcasting and committed that the government “does not want to leave anyone behind,” in the switchover to digital broadcasting.
Opposition criticism
Opposition spokesperson Lindsay Tanner criticised the digital action plan saying it is “further evidence that the interests of consumers are a very low priority in the Government’s media policy.”
“Measures announced today such as improved labeling of analogue equipment, increased consumer education on the benefits of digital TV and industry co-ordination do not make up for poor Government policy that limits the appeal of digital television.”
The full Digital Action Plan document is available at the link below.