The National Transmission Agency (NTA) was an agency within the Australian Department of Communications and the Arts that existed from its inception in 1992 until 1997. Its main function was to administer the transmissions of the

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

's network of broadcasting stations.

Beginnings

The NTA was established in July 1992 by the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n government to supervise the operation of the National Transmission Network (NTN). The NTN was, and still is, the network of

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

transmitters that broadcast the programs of Australia's national broadcasters, namely SBS and

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. The NTA existed as a separate cost centre within the Department of Communications and the Arts because it was funded directly from the Department of Finance during its years of operation.

Operations

Its function was to oversee various Australian government programs relating to the

broadcasting Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...

of ABC and SBS television and radio programs within Australia and of ABC Radio Australia on

shortwave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...

internationally. This was done primarily through administering maintenance and equipment supply contracts. The NTA's funding agreement with the Department of Finance required it to meet savings and performance targets. It had to do this while maintaining the integrity and reliability of the

transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...

facilities themselves. During the life of the NTA, it moved from exclusive reliance on Broadcast Communications and

Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 ...

towards a process of competitive

tendering An invitation to tender (ITT, otherwise known as a call for bids or a request for tenders) is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential suppliers or contractors looking to obtain an award of business ...

to provide its broadcasting services. A significant source of extra funding to the NTA was 'site-sharing' of transmission facilities with commercial broadcasters,

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

companies and

emergency service Emergency services and rescue services are organizations that ensure public safety and health by addressing and resolving different emergencies. Some of these agencies exist solely for addressing certain types of emergencies, while others deal wit ...

communication networks. This 'site-sharing' meant that NTA facilities were made available in return for payment.Annual Report National Transmission Agency 1996

Review and privatisation

The operational efficiency of the NTA was reviewed in 1995 and again in 1996 following a change of government in Australia. The Howard Government chose to

privatise Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

the NTA in 1997. Macquarie Bank Ltd completed its acquisition of NTA in 2002 and re-branded it as

Broadcast Australia BAI Communications, formerly Broadcast Australia, is an Australian telecommunications systems company. History Macquarie Bank completed its acquisition of National Transmission Agency in 2002 the seed asset in the publicly listed Macquarie Com ...

References

External links

Broadcastaustralia's website Defunct Commonwealth Government agencies of Australia {{Australia-gov-stub