If you’ve been watching the upcoming trainwreck that is the Digital TV transition happening in the US at the moment and thinking, “I’m glad that’s not us”, here’s a sobering thought: K-Rudd yesterday announced a $13.6 million package to supply digital set-top boxes for pensioners in Mildura, where the analogue signal will be switched off next year. Can you sense the impending doom?
Not all of the $13.6 million is for set-top boxes though – they’re also introducing a satellite service to try and eliminate blackspots in the digital signal, and there’ll be an extensive marketing and education campaign. The set-top boxes themselves will only be available to homes where at least one resident receives either the full age pension, the disability support pension, the carer’s payment or an equivalent veteran’s payment.
If an Mildurian resident finds themselves in a digital blackspot, the Government will pay for the installation of a satellite dish to receive the satellite signal, apparently. And even though there’s some concern over local content on the satellite service, I think the people in Mildura should probably be concerned about being the guinea pigs for the rest of the country’s digital switchover plans. Because if anything’s going to go wrong (and for such a large transition, something has to), it’s going to happen to them first.
At least we’ll be able to gauge the damage based on what happens in the US in a couple of weeks time…
[via Australian IT]
Strider
Friday, January 30, 2009 at 1:47 PMfrom http://www.travelvictoria.com.au/mildura/facts/ there are only 53,000 people (total population) live in and around Mildura. How can it possibly cost this much???
pcmemoirs
Friday, January 30, 2009 at 2:01 PMI don’t understand- what’s the big deal? They’ll get a better picture on their TVs and if something goes wrong, not to worry, the government will fix it :)
Mot
Friday, January 30, 2009 at 2:05 PMI’d be scared if the total amount was being spent on set top boxes – given there’s less than 5000 people in Mildura even old enough to qualify for the age pension, that’d be nearly $3000 per oldie…
Russell Holmes
Friday, January 30, 2009 at 4:55 PM$13.6 million for television stuff when the country is in the midst of a world-wide economic crisis? I don’t think our present PM is the full krudd.
Arthur
Friday, January 30, 2009 at 5:51 PMI’m from Mildura and I’d have to say that that’s a alot of mullah for the few oldies that havent already been upgraded to dig by family members (all of mine have been). It not like dig is new here either, we have had it for years. Its far better quality with no crappy reception and its also the only way to view channel 10 here.
Why not put aside a $ million or 2 and give all the under 25 adults who work full time and struggle to pay the rent and bills each month some support seeing as Mr Rudd failed to give us anything at christmas. No too happy about that. if he wanted it to be spent its our age group that does the most. I would have spent the crap out of my cut. What a dolt!
Peter
Friday, January 30, 2009 at 9:50 PMAh yes, but you see the, government will subcontract out the supply and installation of the set top boxes and everybody knows you always charge the government 5 times more then the general public. Plus there will be kickback for the son’s girlfriend brothers cousin to install them too.
formulated
Saturday, January 31, 2009 at 5:02 PMok.. set top boxes can be picked up for $30 RETAIL.. not in a bulk purchase.. $13mil buys 433,333 set top boxes. my 70yr old grandparents in an area smaller and more remote than Mildura have a set-top box – sheesh..
they roll this out to mildura the whole country is going to want freebies.. how about a nation that doesn’t watch TV? its alot cheaper.