Asia-Pacific News

The Australian Communications and Media Authority (the ACMA) has announced the outcomes from the digital dividend spectrum auction, which concluded this morning. All three bidders — Optus Mobile, Telstra and TPG Internet — secured spectrum in the auction, resulting in total revenues of nearly $2 billion. Four companies initially applied to participate in the auction. [...]

Riedel Communications, provider of real-time video, audio, data, and communications networks, has announced that His Majesty’s Theatre in Perth has installed a Riedel digital intercom system. The Riedel solution prepares the facility for Australia’s “digital dividend”, which mandates the release and eventual auction of 126 MHz of contiguous RF spectrum and will affect wireless microphones, [...]

Syntec International has launched the Frequency Locator app, designed to provide guidance to users of wireless microphones and associated systems in Australia during the restacking of frequencies being carried out by the Australian Government as part of the Digital Dividend initiative.The Frequency Locator is a simple to use application that can find available frequencies for [...]

The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has issued a direction to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) on the timing of final payments for spectrum licences won at the digital dividend auction. Under this direction, the ACMA is required to issue notices to successful bidders for final payments [...]

The Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA) announced that 4 existing mobile network operators (Genius Brand Limited, SmarTone Mobile Communications Limited, China Mobile Hong Kong Company Limited, and CSL Limited) have successfully bid for a total of 50 MHz of radio spectrum in the 2.5/2.6 GHz band at a total sum of spectrum utilisation fees (SUF) of HK$1.54 [...]

The Australian Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has issued a direction to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) on the timing of final payments for spectrum licences won at the digital dividend auction.Under this direction, the ACMA is required to issue notices to successful bidders for final payments [...]

The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, has issued directions to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) on the settings for the digital dividend spectrum auction. The Minister directed the ACMA to set the reserve price for 700 MHz spectrum at $1.36 per megahertz (MHz) per population. The Minister [...]

The Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Senator Stephen Conroy, announced that northern NSW has officially switched over to digital-only TV. “At 9am, over 550,000 households switched to digital-only TV, as analogue signals across the Northern NSW switchover region were switched off,” Senator Conroy said. “Today’s switch-off means that over 2.1 million households [...]

ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman has released a statement regarding the ACMA’s approach to public safety agencies’ need for spectrum: Claims being made through the media and blogosphere that the ACMA is putting lives at risk through its approach to the spectrum needs of Australia’s public safety agencies (PSAs) need to be addressed. What some commentators [...]

Australia’s police, fire, ambulance and emergency services will have greater access to effective communication channels during disasters following the announcement that 10MHz of spectrum will be available to the States and Territories as a dedicated channel for emergency services. Attorney-General Nicola Roxon and Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Stephen Conroy, said this [...]