Digital television (DTV) portal services have been launched by Communications Minister Mitch Fifield in Crookwell, New South Wales, after a decade of licensing and funding issues left residents with poor reception of commercial stations and SBS.
The upgrade will see fulltime digital transmissions of WIN Television, Prime Television, Southern Cross TEN and SBS Television broadcast across the region, which have been enjoyed by other Australians since the switchover commenced in 2010.
Chief Operating Officer, Broadcast Australia Peter Lambourne and Regional Manager NSW/ACT, Broadcast Australia Chris Howe hosted the Federal Minister for Communications Mitch Fifield, Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor MP and Upper Lachlan Shire Mayor John Shaw at the Broadcast Australia Wades Hill site where they officially launched the service.
Mr Taylor, who alongside the Upper Lachlan Shire Council, lobbied the federal government to provide funding for terrestrial television infrastructure to the Crookwell region, said he was glad the upgrade had been delivered in time for the football season.
For many years, the ABC was the only station successfully transmitting in the region from the Broadcast Australia Wades Hill tower, with commercial stations and the SBS forced to transmit from distant sites.
Crookwell residents will now receive commercial and SBS television services from Canberra via the Regional Broadcasting Australia Holdings (BRAH) Mt Gray transmission site to Crookwell’s Mt Wade transmission site.
Also upgraded was the existing ABC DTV service, which now boasts a 50W transmitter – further improving ABC coverage for Crookwell viewers.
Congratulations to everyone at Broadcast Australia who worked on the project, including Steve Wibisono, Mick Maric, Heath Tubman, Michael Sutton, Richard Shannon and Sherif Sharobeem.
Broadcast Australia is a BAI Communications company.
