The analogue television spectrum that will be freed by Australia’s move to digital broadcasting is now being offered for auction by the Australia’s Government. This will be conducted by the Australian Communications & Media Authority November 2012.
Planned to be completed by 2013, the switchover is being watched eagerly by mobile phone and other telecommunications services, who are queueing up to take control of it.
Alongside the state-owned ABC and SBS, commercial free-to-air TV networks will spend up to A$50m (US$50.75m) to retune more than 1,000 transmitters across the country. The so-called ‘digital dividend’ is expected to be worth A$2.5bn (US$2.53bn). The spectrum sale that accompanies the US migration to digital broadcasting brought its government US$19bn in 2009.
