Improving television reception

Communities with poor television reception can establish their own access to may be interested in establishing self-help national and/or commercial television services.

Under the self-help arrangements, community groups or local councils purchase and install the equipment necessary to receive and locally retransmit a service from a nearby terrestrial transmitter or satellite. The community group or local council would then take be responsibility for meeting any ongoing licensing, operations and maintenance costs.

Further information on self-help is available from the Australian Communications and Media Authority website at: www.acma.gov.au /acmainter or by calling 1800 810 241 or reviewing its

There are currently no government programs that would offer communities or local councils financial assistance to establish ABC or commercial self-help television services.

SBS does however, administer the SBS Self-help Retransmission Subsidy Scheme which makes available up to 75 percent of the establishment costs, up to a cap of $50, 000 (including GST), $25,000 available to assist small commun ities to establish local councils and community groups to a local retransmission facility for establish an SBS digital television programming. self-help service. As the scheme is administered by SBS, further information details on this scheme is can be found on the SBS' website (see at www.sbs.com.au/transmission.html#selfhelp) or available by calling SBS contacting Mr Hugh James, Manager Communications Strategy and Planning, on 1800 500 727, or by email to on selfhelp@sbs.com.au .

The ABC also offers a help line (freecall number 1300 139 994), to provide communities with information about setting up their own self-help facilities to access ABC television (and radio) services.

Further information about Digital Television reception, can be obtained from DTS website.

Find links to information on superseded media and broadcasting programs for improving broadcasting services.

see the Digital television switchover page.