COMMUNICATIONS Minister Stephen Conroy has maintained the momentum for a fourth free-to-air television channel, saying that spectrum freed up by the switch to digital television could be set aside for a new commercial network.
Senator Conroy also revealed that the Rudd Government had estimated the unused spectrum could be worth up to $1 billion.
"In terms of the spectrum and what we could do with it, we've said all along that we are prepared to consider any of the options, including a fourth free-to-air network for the use of the spectrum when we switch it off," Senator Conroy told the ABN Amro Communications Conference in Sydney yesterday.
"We've said that should be on the table for all parties to discuss ... so we're working our way forward on those issues."
The Government aims to have the switch-over to digital television completed by the end of 2013, but Senator Conroy conceded there was "still much work to be done to convert the nearly 60 per cent of Australians who currently do not receive digital free-to-air broadcasts".
"This could well be the most wide-ranging format change on a national scale since we introduced decimal currency," hesaid.
The shift to digital television will free up scarce spectrum that could be used for "new and improved communications services, potentially including wireless internet, mobile telephony and broadcasting".
"The exact value of this spectrum is uncertain, but some estimates say it could be worth up to $1 billion," he said.
"Regardless of its exact worth, the digital dividend is clearly a major benefit of digital switch-over."
Auctions of spectrum licences by the Howard government in 2001 yielded a $1 billion-plus windfall for the commonwealth.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority, which is reviewing spectrum allocations, has recently released several discussion papers about spectrum use in Australia.
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