News

126 MHz digital dividend announced

The Government announced that it will release 126 Megahertz of broadcasting spectrum as a digital dividend, once the digital TV switchover is completed on December 31, 2013.

“This presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve communication services available in Australia,” said Minister Stephen Conroy.

The digital dividend will be released as a contiguous block of spectrum in the upper ultra-high frequency (UHF) band, comprising the frequency range 694 to 820 MHz inclusive. The size and location of the digital dividend were decided after public consultation through the Digital Dividend Green Paper, and the announcement will allow work on digital channel planning and auction of the spectrum to comence.

The digital dividend spectrum will be auctioned in the second half of 2012, to allow successful bidders to plan and deploy the networks that will utilise the spectrum.

Before the spectrum is released the Department for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and the Australian Media and Communications Authority will work with broadcasters to restack their television channels, relocating them out of the divital dividend spectrum.

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