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Competition and confusion in_____ digital satellite television Competitive satellite platforms are reducing costs for remote area broadcasters but consumers have been left with a bizarre choice c W o m e half a million Australians live in remote areas that do not wanted to do the same thing for GWN's receive normal terrestrial television broadcast services. Much of digital broadcasts by taking the signal the demand for TV services in these areas is met by remote area off PAS, beaming it to Aurora then broadcasting which provides the ABC, SBS and a commercial retransmitting it. But while there are no channel on a free-to-air basis. These are currently delivered by B- restrictions on retransmitting the national MAC analogue transmission on zonal beams (e.g. Western public broadcaster, a host of licence Australia, central and north-eastern zones) using several Optus restrictions for commercial television satellites including B3. prevented Optus from doing what In regional Western Australia, the commercial television service is Telstra had already achieved. provided by a Prime Television Holdings company, Golden West The ABC service has to be available Network (GWN) which broadcasts four regional services. Until countrywide so there are no "licence recently, GWN's analogue service beamed off Optus B3 along area" restrictions of the kind that apply with national broadcasters the ABC and SBS. Then in February to licensed commercial services such as 1997, Optus announced that it was converting its transmission GWN. The GWN service is only facility to the digital Aurora platform (commencing July 1998 but licensed for remote areas and is not fully operational from October 1998), offering a digital broadcast allowed to be received by viewers in service for remote areas. (Digital compression allows transmission other areas such as Perth and some of a number of services off one transponder rather than using major regional centres. It is impossible several, thus freeing up capacity, for example, for other data and to prevent the signal being transmitted information services). into those parts of the footprint but it is In order to receive the digital broadcasts, viewers would need to possible to prevent it being seen by buy a digital decoder. Terrestrial broadcasters retransmitting viewers by not enabling decoders out­ satellite signals would also need to invest in digital decoding side the service areas. equipment. The only problem for Telstra's retrans­ In June 1997, the ABC signed a five-year contract with Optus to mission was that it was unable to trans­ deliver its remote area television broadcasting services using mit the ABC digital signal from PAS at Aurora. It was followed by regional Queensland broadcaster, the six megabit strength required for the Telecasters Australia, the Seven Network (for its satellite broad­ kind of broadcast picture quality that cast and video interchange services), SBS and Network 10 (for Western Australian viewers were used to turnkey satellite video services). from an analogue service. Its two megabit output meant that viewing of Optus rival Telstra, acting quickly to seize a business opportunity anything other than newscasts was less in what could prove to be a lucrative market for subscription than perfect. To overcome the problem, television services delivered via satellite, signed an agreement Telstra agreed to lift the bit rate while with PanAmSat (PAS) providing for a digital satellite platform to broadcasting certain events such as compete with Aurora in remote Western Australia. GWN, then sport. But to achieve this it had to drop Western Australia's sole commercial television network, signed the bit rate on its other services, mean­ with Telstra and PAS. ing that other services on the platform The subsequent problem, of course, was that to watch national would suffer some loss of picture quality. public television (the ABC) and commercial television (GWN), Telstra went digital on PAS in viewers would need to receive digital broadcast signals from both November 1997 and Optus commences PAS and Aurora satellites - and each requires a separate decoder. next month. The six-month gap between But viewers who invested in the PAS decoder can receive the the two services in Western Australia ABC because Telstra is picking up the signal from Optus/Aurora, meant that viewers were not sure beaming it to the PAS satellite then retransmitting it. Optus whether to go out and buy the PAS equipment or wait for Optus' Aurora platform to come online and then to different parts of regional months prior to the start of buy the necessary technology. Western Australia. Optus' digital transition in July, This confusion raised another and analogue and digital services Just before the three-month dead­ issue: how long to prolong GWN's will run concurrendy throughout line - May 15, 1998 - Optus and analogue service given that it now the transition period. So viewers Prime Television reached a com­ existed as a digital broadcast off have about four months to make mercial setdement regarding PAS? up their minds which digital deliv­ transmission of the analogue B- ery platform to align with. On February 27, 1998, the day MAC GWN signal. The agree­ before the GWN analogue satel­ ment allows Optus to continue Despite the agreement, the fact lite signal was to be turned off, transmission of the analogue remains that Optus probably Optus applied for permission to signal until the termination of the wants to broadcast the GWN rebroadcast the signal outside the ABC analogue transmission at the digital signal and is in the process GWN licence area (given its signal end of September 1998. of meeting with the ABA to dis­ "splash over" into non-licensed cuss the various options available. areas, Optus had to apply for It hopes that the authority will Australian Broadcasting Authority A WIN for which intervene and give it permission (ABA) permission). Negotiations te lco ? to carry GWN on Aurora, just between Optus and Prime like Telstra is doing with the OPTUS and Telstra will both be Television to continue uplinking ABC. But while there are provi­ hoping to secure Western the analogue signal to the Optus sions in the Broadcasting Act and Australia's second commercial B3 satellite failed and at midnight Copyright Act which allow for television licensee holder as part of on February 28, the television retransmission of the ABC's sig­ the services offered from their screens went blank in some 3,500 nal, GWN's licence conditions respective digital platforms. direct-to-home households in restrict it to broadcasting in a regional Western Australia. W IN International, which bid specific geographic area. Carrying Commercial television as an ana­ $36 million for the second com­ the signal and retransmitting it logue service dispersed by Optus mercial licence at a licence alloca­ from Aurora would hold no guar­ simply disappeared. tion exercise conducted by the antee that the signal wouldn't Australian Broadcasting Authority splash over the geographic bound­ But on March 5, Optus began in Perth on April 1, is required to aries and hence break the licence retransmitting the GWN service commence broadcasting by the end conditions. by taking the digital signal off of March 1999. PAS and rebroadcasting it in But privately, sources say there is analogue format. Ultimately the Western Australia's only regional no hope that GWN will strike a signal was disabled by Prime commercial broadcaster at present, commercial deal with Optus for which managed to isolate the Golden West Network, is owned by digital broadcasting, so asking the decoder responsible and disable Prime Television, the Seven ABA to intervene is probably the the transmission. The service Network affiliate headed up by only course of action left. stopped - again. Paul Ramsay. W IN International At the crux of what is a rather is a Nine Network affiliate and is Whatever the motives behind ludicrous situation is the uncom­ managed by Bruce Gordon. turning off the analogue signal, fortable feeling that viewers are then retransmitting it before its being forced to make hasty deci­ further disabling, all parties sions about technology which may "Optus and Prime have reached a involved were guilty of leaving no ultimately be inappropriate. With commercial setdement which will provision for a commercial televi­ anecdotal evidence suggesting provide certainty for those people sion service for a sector of that there are still problems with in Western Australia who are still Western Australian television the broadcast quality of digital dependent on an analogue GWN viewers who could only view an platforms, with any luck, com- transmission," said Dr Mark analogue signal. monsense will prevail and viewers Flarwood, manager of Optus in regional Western Australia will So, on March 11, the ABA Media & Satellite. be able to receive quality digital granted Optus permission to Digital decoders - at about $250 broadcast pictures for all ffee-to- rebroadcast by satellite for three each (subsidised by the federal air and subscription services, no months an analogue signal for the government which is providing matter what digital satellite tech­ commercial television service $750 of the total $1,000 cost) - nology they decide to use. WAW Remote Western Australia, have been available to Western one of the four similar but sepa­ Australian viewers for some rate services provided by GWN Karen Wlnton communications update L.

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