History
Broadcast Australia’s primary physical asset, the National Transmission Network (NTN), was initially established and operated by the Australian Government. The first service commenced in 1928 at Lyndhurst site, Victoria, transmitting radio on the AM spectrum band.
Throughout the 75+ years since the establishment of the first AM radio service, the NTN underwent significant changes reflecting the adoption of newly emergent technologies including HF, FM radio, black & white and colour television.
After 71 years as a government owned and managed network, the NTN was sold by the Australian Government in 1999 to National Transcommunications Limited Australia (ntl A), a subsidiary company of UK based ntl. ntl A was subsequently acquired by Macquarie Bank Ltd in 2002 and re-branded as Broadcast Australia, becoming the seed asset in the publicly listed Macquarie Infrastructure Communications Group fund (ASX Code:MCG).
Since 2002 Broadcast Australia has been awarded contracts with a total value in excess of $1 billion. The vast majority of these contracts were awarded by previously existing customers, which is a testament to Broadcast Australia’s superior customer relationships. All material contract options have been exercised which demonstrates the value for money that Broadcast Australia provides for its customers and the level of trust they place in Broadcast Australia to provide quality services over the long term. Contracts awarded include SBS digital television services, additional ABC digital television services, ABC NewsRadio services and portal digital television services with a number of major regional commercial broadcasters.
During 2003, Broadcast Australia set up The Bridge Networks as a wholly owned subsidiary, a structural development and installation specialist. Supporting Broadcast Australia, The Bridge Networks specialises in the plan, design, supply, installation, testing and commissioning of broadcast transmission systems.
On 2 October 2007, Broadcast Australia acquired a majority share in Radio Frequency Engineering Limited (RFE), a Hong Kong-based business specialising in indoor and confined space coverage for television and radio. The acquisition allows the two companies to work together closely, in particular, on broadcast mobile TV networks. Coverage inside buildings and tunnels will be essential for analogue switch off and the rollout of DAB as well as mobile TV services.
Field Services became an in-house service for Broadcast Australia on 1 December 2007 with the purchase of Kordia R & M Pty Ltd. The Field Services division maintains the network of over 600 transmission sites ensuring the nationwide delivery of key television, radio and other communications services for Broadcast Australia customers.
On 10 March 2008, Broadcast Australia completed its acquisition of IT company Hostworks, a leading provider of critical application management and hosting services. It is responsible for managing the availability, performance and running costs of its customer’s critical business applications by selling specialist services designed to ensure IT operations excellence.
Broadcast Australia is the sole provider of digital television transmission services for ABC and SBS. Broadcast Australia is contracted to complete the establishment of digital television services to replicate the existing ABC and SBS analogue television networks.