Labor’s analog television turn off must be delayed
27th December, 2009
Federal Member for Wide Bay, Warren Truss, has called on the Federal Government to delay the closure of analog television signals until equivalent digital format transmissions are available to all affected viewers.“The Rudd Labor Government plans to close down analog television transmissions in the Wide Bay region in 2011. Yet it has no plans to ensure that digital signals extend to all viewers who currently receive the analog network,” Mr Truss said.
“The Government wants to close the analog network so that it can sell off the spectrum for other services. Even though the Government expects to make billions of dollars from the sale of the spectrum, it has not to date offered financial support to viewers who will be required to buy new television sets (or at least a new set top box), or to guarantee continuing television signals to all viewers.
“The first analog switch-off will occur in Mildura in six months time. The Government is trialling satellite transmissions to people who cannot receive the new digital signal. But satellite signals may originate from another State with a different time zone and will not include local news and weather services. This is not an acceptable alternative,” Mr Truss said.
Many Wide Bay television viewers are complaining that their digital signals seem to be lower strength and are too regularly interrupted.
“Many viewers, particularly in areas such as the Cooloola Coast cannot receive digital signals at all as their transmitter has not been converted.”
Mr Truss said that while regional viewers have often been the last to receive new digital free-to-air channels, the Federal Government has decided that analog television will be switched off first in regional areas with the cities still receiving analog transmissions into 2013.
“This must be the first time a Labor Government has ever given something to country areas before the cities,” Mr Truss commented.
“The Federal Labor Government is simply arrogant and out of touch and does not seem to care that many people in regional areas will be unable to afford the conversion to digital or simply may have no signal. In the last Budget, the Federal Labor Government cut funding for a program to test for digital TV blackspots and so now it does not even know which areas will be without reception.
“This sounds a lot like the analog phone turn-off — only worse!
“The Federal Government must either defer the analog television turn-off or announce immediate plans to help particularly low income earners to convert to digital and implement a plan to fund new digital transmitters in blackspot reception areas.”
