SYDNEY. April 8, 1999 – John Fairfax Holdings, in a submission to the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, has warned that unless strong action is taken, Australia will become a digital TV backwater, with limited services and expensive set top boxes that are not used anywhere else in the world. Fairfax argued for an expansive definition of datacasting and for lower-cost set top boxes to receive digital signals.

Nigel Dews, General Manager, Business Development and Online Services, said:

"Fairfax is committed to ensuring that digital TV and datacasting are a success in Australia – it is in our interests as well as the country’s.

The Department’s regulatory proceeding is at a key juncture. If the wrong choices are made, there simply will not be a viable datacasting industry in Australia, depriving millions of households of a new generation of information and entertainment services.

The wrong decisions will make digital technology the exclusive preserve of the free-to-air broadcasting industry, contrary to the intent of the legislation enacted by Parliament.

We welcome the strong attention these issues have received by the Department and Members of Parliament."

In the debate on digital policy, Fairfax makes several points:

• Multi-function set-top boxes, supporting a wide range of services, are needed to drive consumer takeup of digital;
• For these set-top boxes to be affordable, costly features (such as Dolby sound) must be optional, and world standards must be pursued without local variations that isolate Australia in world markets;
• A broad definition of datacasting is required to facilitate the development of attractive new services
• Efficient spectrum planning is needed to maximise the number of new services.

"FACTS is advocating a gold-plated set-top box. This is an unnecessary and expensive burden to put on datacasting in its infancy and on consumers of these new services. Digital broadcasting and datacasting have enormous potential, with new services to benefit Australia, and we have to get it right." Mr Dews said.

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Fairfax position papers on digital can be found at
http://www.fairfax.com.au/fairfax_corporate/digitaltv.htm

For further information, please contact
Nigel Dews, (02) 9282 2268
Bruce Wolpe, Manager, Corporate Affairs, (02) 9282 3640

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