Digital TV switchover leaves 600 homes without television
- — 01 July, 2010 07:11
About 600 homes in Victoria's Mildura and Sunraysia region are without television after the federal government turned off their analog signal.
At 9am (AEST) on Wednesday analog television ceased broadcasting in the area, making it the first part of Australia to switch to the digital-only age.
Communications Minister Stephen Conroy said about one per cent of homes in the Mildura/Sunraysia region had indicated they weren't going to make the transition.
With a population of approximately 57,000, that equates to about 600 locals with nothing to watch on the box.
All of Australia is set to go digital by the end of 2013, and Senator Conroy said the deadline will stand.
"We've set a firm deadline, and one of the reasons that we've now been able to get the success here in Mildura is because we set a firm deadline," he told Sky News.
"If people think it is going to be put off, then they will put off the decision to go out and make that conversion."
Regional South Australia and Broken Hill in NSW's far west are the next regions earmarked for analog switch off, on December 15.
