australia’s experience with digital television transition chris cheah authority member, australian...
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Australia’s experience with digital television transition
Chris Cheah
Authority Member, Australian Communications and Media Authority
Overview
Australia’s television and regulatory environment
A brief historyCurrent Tasks and ChallengesThinking about the future
Australia’s television environment – some base demographics
Population 22 million
Households 8.5 million
.. with FTA TV 8.4 million
.. % Digital 82%
.. % with Pay TV 28%
Australia’s television environment – providers
> Two publicly funded (‘national’) broadcasters : ABC, SBS> Three national commercial television networks : 7, 9 and Ten
> Mainly syndicated via regional providers, underpinned by “aggregation” policy dating from the 1980s
> 69 commercial licences in total> Currently offering 5 analog but 15 digital channels
> 2 large subscription television providers : Foxtel and AUSTAR – in merger talks
> Indigenous broadcast television provider (Imparja) in parts of remote Australia
> 81 Community (mainly very local) television licences> Some smaller subscription and “narrowcast” servicers
Australia’s television environment – regulatory players
ContentContent CarriageCarriage
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
(ACCC)
INDUSTRY BODIES WITHCO-REGULATORY FUNCTIONS
TelecommunicationsIndustry Ombudsman (TIO)
CommunicationsAlliance
MINISTER FOR BROADBAND, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE DIGITAL ECONOMYSenator the Hon Stephen Conroy
POLICY ADVICE
Department of Broadband, Communications & the Digital Economy
Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA)
OPERATORS
USERS
Free TV Australia(Commercial Television
Industry Body)
Commercial Radio Australia (CRA)
Internet Industry Association (IIA)
•National Broadcasters•Commercial Broadcasters•Community Broadcasters•Subscription Broadcasters•Narrowcasters
•Carriers•Telephone Service Providers•Internet Service Providers•Broadcast Transmission Providers
Industry User Groups Consumer Groups
GOVERNMENT REGULATORS
NET ALERT(Government owned Internet Community
Advisory Body)
Australian SubscriptionTV and Radio Association
(ASTRA)
INDUSTRY BODIES WITHCO-REGULATORY FUNCTIONS
Community BroadcastingAssociation of Australia
(CBAA)
ACMA’s main broadcasting functions Spectrum regulator – including planning of broadcasting spectrum Allocation, renewal, suspension and cancellation of broadcasting licences and the collection of licence fees Oversight of ownership and control rules, including public registers Oversee content rules in legislation, licence conditions and industry codes of practice Establishing program standards (Australian content, children, advertising) Investigations of complaints Advice to Government
A brief history of digital television transition
Two main waves of government decisions
> Wave 1 : Late 1990s to 2002
> Wave 2 : ~2007 to now
Also some important parallel activities about the convergent and broadband future.
Government decisions wave 1 – Late 1990s-2002
> Introduction of digital television as an addition to analog – via a long introductory period (minimum 8 years)> Commencement in metro areas 1 January 2001, Regional areas by
2004> ~$250 million to assist national and regional broadcasters invest in
infrastructure and major planning exercise> clear aim of releasing spectrum at some point for a digital dividend
> 7 MHz channels> ostensibly to support HDTV options (hence an HDTV quota)> but capable of supporting more SD multi-channelling, albeit delayed
> Use of DVB-T technology> Principle of “same coverage”> Datacasting channel (defunct)
Government decisions wave 2 – From 2007 to now
> Locked in a serious switch off date (31 December 2013)
> Related decisions about how digital dividend
> Set a staged national switchover plan
> Government funded education campaign, including tools to assist viewers
> Government funded household assistance scheme (HAS) to subsidise equipment to particular vulnerable viewers
> Government funded satellite transmission scheme (VAST) to provide a safety net of national coverage
> including satellite equipment subsidy scheme
> Planning principle of “restacking” to yield digital dividend spectrum
> Government funded research to monitor digital takeup area-by-area, and the digital tracker
The switchover timetable
KEY
http://agencysearch.australia.gov.au/search/search.cgi?query=radiofrequency+allocations+chart&collection=agencies&form=simple&profile=acma
First Half 2010
Second Half 2010
First Half 2011
Second Half 2011
First Half 2013
Second Half 2013
First Half 2012
Second Half 2012
Satellite
http://www.digitalready.gov.au/Home.aspx
http://www.digitalready.gov.au
KEY Digital channelsAnalog channels
Newcastle
Sydney
Illawarra
Others
BI BII BIII BIV BV
Central Coast
Current Analog & Digital channels during simulcast Newcastle, Sydney, Illawarra
45-52 MHz
85-108 MHz
137-144 MHz
526-582 MHz 582-820 MHz56-70 MHz 174-230 MHz
6 channel blockNewcastle, Sydney, Illawarra
KEY DAB +
45-52 MHz
85-108 MHz
137-144 MHz
526-582 MHz 582-820 MHz56-70 MHz 174-230 MHz
Newcastle
Sydney
Illawarra
BIV BVBIIIBIIBI
Block A Block C Block DBlock B Block E
Central Coast
Digital Channels
Start 2010
Mid 2012 End 2014Mid 2013End 2013
Analog switch off
Broadcasters relocate to new digital TV channels
Restack legislative amendments
Digital TV restack planning
Restack completed
Spectrum Auction
Minister’s media release
Discussion Paper
Ministerial Direction
Recom’to Minister
Allocation Instruments
Ministerial Declaration
Issue Licences
Technical Framework
Digital Dividend Green Paper
KEY ACMA BroadcastersMinister DBCDE
Broadcasters start to plan infrastructure & new equipment
Yielding the Digital Dividend:The Restack and Reallocation Processes
Spectrum available for use
Some success factors?
Certainty : timetables, technology Linkages between outcomes : digital switchover and
digital dividend Well thought out incentives Real benefits : Digital clearly better than analog (more
channels, better quality picture) Good communication, about benefits and consequences Addressing sources of criticism, but with an eye to the
future
Some parallel regulatory developments
> Changing ownership and control regulation> Multichannelling policy> Classification, parental locks and EPGs> The outer boundaries of “narrowcasting”> Sports rights and the anti-siphoning list> What to do about mobile television?> “Datacasting” policy
Thinking about the future of “television” – issues
> Evolving standards : MPEG4 and all that> Evolving capabilities : 3D, increasing HD, interactivity> Other content services, and substitutes
> IPTV, VOD, and broadband> Damaged concepts : What is a “television” “program”?> Relentless spectrum demand
> Mobile data, refarming, “whitespace”> Where to with the “quid pro quo” ?> Role of traditional broadcasting objectives : quality,
choice, Australian content, localism, ownership and influence, community standards, captioning, children
Thinking about the future of television – current processes
> During 2011 three content-related reviews : a Convergence Review; a media inquiry; and a review of classification arrangements
> 2009 Government decision to fund a National Broadband Network – a paradigm shift in play
> ACMA discussion starter on the future of television following switchover
> ACMA and other research www.acma.gov.au
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