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ISSN 1030-2662
2
SILICON CHIP
The Pay TV farce: where to from here?
Now that the Senate has sent the proposed Pay TV legislation back to the
drawing board, there is time for people in the electronics and broadcasting
industry to assess what it could mean for the future of the industry over the
next 10 years.
Initial reactions were that the 1-year start to be given to the first licence
holder would not be anywhere near enough. In fact, the danger was that,
had the legislation passed, nobody would have bid for the first licence and
the Federal Government would have been left with egg on its face. Potential
entrants into this field would need to commit hundreds of millions of
dollars and to say that they will then have a year's grace before the race is
open to established media operators is like giving a 20-metre start to an
untrained athlete against a marathon runner like Robert de Castella or Steve
Monaghetti. A start of 3-5 years would seem to be much more reasonable.
Where the Government did make a good decision was in not confining
Pay TV to satellite transmissions. There seems no good reason why it
should not be eventually available via optical fibre. Sending the Pay TV
signals via the same optical fibres which are increasingly carrying phone,
fax and other data signals would make a great deal of sense. Significantly
too, if Telecom's optical fibre network ultimately became the major Pay TV
medium, then a great part of the considerable investment needed would
stay in Australia and would be used to develop our growing expertise in
this field rather than being spent on imported technology.
And do we really want millions of satellite dishes pointing at the sky?
Apart from the aesthetics of the matter, each house sprouting a satellite dish
will also be a beacon to thieves as satellite receivers become the latest easily
"fenced" commodity. How much more discreet would Pay TV be if it came
in via the same cable that brings your phone service. Another advantage
would be that the signal coming via optical fibres will not be affected by
weather conditions.
·
Consider also that satellites do not last forever and when they stop
transmitting there is nothing for it except to send up another enormously
expensive replacement. The optical fibre transmission network, on the
other hand, will continue to grow and will be subject to continuous
enhancement.
Perhaps the Senate has done everyone a big favour. Now is the time to
stop and consider whether we would all be better off waiting a few years
until Pay TV can run via optical fibres.
Leo Simpson
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