Ericsson brings digital TV to regional Aus
Under-served regional Australians are set to receive digital free-to-air TV via satellite under a five-year deal between Ericsson and the ABC national broadcaster.
(Credit: Ericsson)
The Federal Government has tipped some $160 million into satellite services that will provide free-to-air TV to 247,000 blacked-out households. It began switching off analog television to provide only digital signals from 30 June this year.
Satellite TV will be delivered using Ericsson's latest video compression technology, which the vendor claims will help the ABC expand the reach of its high-definition and standard-definition digital TV programming.
Ericsson Australia and New Zealand director Sam Saba said: "We value being part of digitalising and ensuring that all Australians can enjoy a rich, high-quality television experience."
The satellite uses Ericsson's MPEG-4 AVC EN8190 HD and EN8130 SD encoders, reflex statistical multiplexing for channel bitrate allocation and management, and nCompass Control and Monitoring.
The announcement follows a deal between the ABC and Optus last month to provide free-to-air TV to digital blackspot areas. The telco also won similar deals with broadcasters the Southern Cross Media Group, SBS and Indigenous broadcaster Imparja Television.
Optus also recently launched an ADSL-comparable satellite service that provides speeds up to 6Mbps download and 1Mpbs upload to remote businesses.
Ericsson did not reveal the value of the deal.