Senator Stephen Conroy has visited Rockhampton to celebrate the Digital Switchover across the regional Queensland switchover region.
The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy has visited Rockhampton to celebrate the Digital Switchover across the regional Queensland switchover region.
“This is a great day for households across regional Queensland which will now enjoy the full suite of digital TV channels thanks to the Gillard Government’s Digital Switchover program,” Senator Conroy says.
“Today we switch off analogue and switch over to our digital future in regional Queensland.
“It is a future in which television choice is increased for all Australians, as we harness new developments in technology and make better use of our broadcast space.
“I thank the people of regional Queensland who have looked to this future and worked so enthusiastically with us to make it happen.”
At 9:00am on 6 December, analogue signals across the regional Queensland switchover region were switched off permanently.
Many households in regional Queensland did not have adequate reception of terrestrial digital TV services before switchover.
The Regional Queensland switchover means more than one million households are now converted to digital TV nationally. This marks a significant milestone in Australia’s transition to an era of digital only television.
New investment by the Government and broadcasters means households across Regional Queensland are enjoying the full suite of digital TV channels for the very first time.
“Regional Queensland is the fourth and largest region to switch to digital only TV,” Senator Conroy says.
“The Gillard Government’s investment in equalising TV services for regional and rural Australia includes the Viewer Access Satellite Television (VAST) service, which is available for those that cannot receive adequate terrestrial reception.”
The VAST service includes all 16 free-to-air digital channels plus a dedicated regional news channel.
Residents in regional Queensland who have switched to digital TV will have more choice – with 16 TV Channels now available – including ABC1, ABC2, ABC3, ABC24, SBS1, SBS2, SBSHD, ONE, Eleven, Go!, Gem, 7Two, 7mate, WIN, Channel Seven and Southern Cross Ten. Digital TV also provides improved picture and sound quality.
The switch to digital only TV in parts of regional Queensland means that many towns will finally have the same number of channels as is available in city centres.
Support is still available for people who haven’t switched to digital TV or are having reception issues. Visit www.digitalready.gov.au or call 1800 20 10 13 for more information.
