Australia delays digital switchover

Australia's federal government has scrapped a target date of December 31, 2008 to switch off analogue TV broadcasts in major metropolitan areas.

Senator Helen Coonan, Australia's communications minister, cited "insufficient digital take-up" as the reason behind the move. She proposed to reset the date with a new target to fall in a two-year window between 2010 and 2012.

Under wide-ranging reform proposals laid out by the government today, Australia will release sufficient frequencies to permit the country's main terrestrial networks to have a digital multicast channel each by 2009, with restrictions on the types of programming eligible to be carried on such channels dropped "as soon as possible."

"This will give the national broadcasters greater scope to experiment with new digital programming and services and make greater use of their valuable programme archives," said Coonan.