According to Senator Stephen Conroy, minister for broadband, communications and the digital economy, 61 per cent of Australian households have converted to digital television.
“The number of Australian households to convert to digital TV increased by 14 percentage points during 2009, and by five percentage points during the last quarter of 2009,” he said.
“It’s great to see so many Australian households taking advantage of digital TV and enjoying the new channels and additional content, along with better picture and sound quality.”
“Digital switchover is important as it will also free-up spectrum which can be used for the delivery of new and improved broadcasting and communication services, such as high speed broadband.”
Andy Townsend, executive director of the digital switchover taskforce, spoke about some of the developments in regional Australia.
“In Mildura Sunraysia, which will be the first region in Australia to go digital-only on 30 June, 79 per cent of households had converted to digital TV by the end of 2009, which was an increase of nine percentage points over the year,” he said. “Regional South Australia and Broken Hill will follow Mildura Sunraysia in the second half of 2010 in switching over to digital TV.”
“The Digital Switchover Taskforce is working closely with communities across Australia to ensure they are prepared for the digital switchover when it occurs in their area.”