Optus Aurora
Encyclopedia
Optus Aurora is a free-to-view satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...

 platform in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, aimed at providing television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

 services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1
Optus fleet of satellites
This is a list of the satellites operated by Optus, an Australian telecommunications company. The satellite communications facility is located at Belrose on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.-A-Class:*Satellite Type: Hughes HS-376...

 and B3
Optus fleet of satellites
This is a list of the satellites operated by Optus, an Australian telecommunications company. The satellite communications facility is located at Belrose on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.-A-Class:*Satellite Type: Hughes HS-376...

 satellites. The service is available to all areas, using a standard satellite dish
Satellite dish
A satellite dish is a dish-shaped type of parabolic antenna designed to receive microwaves from communications satellites, which transmit data transmissions or broadcasts, such as satellite television.-Principle of operation:...

 and set top box, however commercial stations carried on the platform are restricted to their respective coverage areas.

Aurora replaced the analogue Homestead and Community Broadcast Satellite Service in late 1998. HACBSS, carried on the Optus B1
Optus fleet of satellites
This is a list of the satellites operated by Optus, an Australian telecommunications company. The satellite communications facility is located at Belrose on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.-A-Class:*Satellite Type: Hughes HS-376...

 satellite, was originally launched in the 1980s, and was in many areas the first means of receiving television signals.

In 2010, Viewer Access Satellite Television
Viewer Access Satellite Television
The Viewer Access Satellite Television service, or VAST, is a satellite television platform in Australia, providing digital television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 satellite. It is partly funded by the Australian Government and managed through a joint-venture...

 was launched. It is a replacement for Aurora and provides a full range of digital channels. Aurora will cease transmission in the second half of 2013.

Television

The remote area broadcast services carried on the platform comprise the major terrestrial
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...

 networks available in the service's two main coverage areas - Remote and Regional Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, and Remote Central and Eastern Australia.

ABC TV
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....

 and SBS
SBS TV
SBS One is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally...

 are available in all areas with the use of a smartcard, however commercial stations are only available to viewers in their respective coverage areas - GWN
Golden West Network
GWN7 is an Australian television network owned by the Prime Media Group that is based in Bunbury, Western Australia. The Golden West Network launched on 10 March 1967 as BTW-3 in Bunbury, and has since expanded to cover regional and remote Western Australia, servicing all areas except metropolitan...

 and WIN WA
WIN Television
WIN Television is an Australian television network owned by the WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single Wollongong-only station, and has since expanded to 24 owned-and-operated stations with transmissions covering a...

 to regional Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

, and Imparja Television
Imparja Television
Imparja Television is an Australian television network servicing remote eastern and central Australia, that began broadcasting on 2 January 1988. It is based in Alice Springs, where it has a studio and satellite uplink facility. Notably, it is controlled by Australian Aborigines through ownership...

 and Southern Cross Central to remote viewers in central and eastern Australia.

The multichannels of the broadcasters are not currently available on this service.

Indigenous broadcaster National Indigenous Television
National Indigenous Television
National Indigenous Television, commonly referred to as NITV, is an Australian television network broadcasting throughout Australia via satellite.-History:...

 (NITV) and WA government service Westlink Network
Westlink Network
The Westlink Network, often shortened to Westlink, is a TV channel broadcast to regional and remote areas of Western Australia, mainly via satellite but also via analogue terrestrial in some areas...

 are also available on Aurora, in addition to some wagering channels from Sky Racing
Sky Racing
Sky Racing is an Australian horse and greyhound racing television channel. It is carried by Foxtel, Austar, Optus TV and Neighbourhood Cable. It was formerly available on SelecTV from 16 April 2007 until the closure of its English service in late 2010....

.

Radio

A number of remote commercial and indigenous stations broadcast on Aurora, as do a few in-store radio services.

Most of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...

's radio networks are carried on the platform. SBS Radio
SBS Radio
SBS Radio is a service provided by the Special Broadcasting Service '..to inform, educate and entertain Australians, especially those of non-English speaking backgrounds'. SBS Radio originally began as two stations based in Melbourne and Sydney, set up to provide pre-recorded information about the...

's national network is carried for five timezones. SBS Radio 1, SBS Radio 2 and ABC DiG
ABC DiG
ABC DiG is a digital radio service operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation which began in November 2002, emerging from formats developed by Bill Gates and Phil Cullen at ABC Coast FM, which broadcast an Adult Alternative music format and was for many years ABC Radio's only continuous...

 are not carried by Aurora however they are available on FTA C-Band.

The Australian government's Community Broadcasting Foundation
Community Broadcasting Foundation
The Community Broadcasting Foundation is an independent non-profit funding organisation based in Melbourne. The CBF solicits and then distributes funds that assist with the maintenance and development of community broadcasting in Australia....

 broadcasts a number of services on the platform including the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...

, National Indigenous Radio Service
National Indigenous Radio Service
The National Indigenous Radio Service is a satellite program feed available in Australia to community radio stations that are subscribers of the CBAA’s Community Radio Network. The NIRS provides targeted and specialist programming for and by Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander...

, Vision Australia Radio
Vision Australia Radio
Vision Australia Radio is a network of eight radio stations in Victoria and southern New South Wales owned by Vision Australia. The stations broadcast a range of programs, generally consisting of readings of newspapers and magazines for people unable to read print media...

 and the Community Radio Network
Community Broadcasting Association of Australia
The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia is a peak body and the national representative organisation for community radio and television stations in Australia. The CBAA provide leadership, advocacy and support for members to actively provide independent broadcasting services and to build...

.

Coles Supermarkets
Coles Supermarkets
Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741 stores nationally Coles Supermarkets is an Australian supermarket chain owned by Wesfarmers. It has 741...

, Officeworks
Officeworks
Officeworks is a chain of Australian office supplies stores which was established in the early 1990s by Coles Myer...

 and Kmart Australia
Kmart Australia
Kmart Australia Limited is a discount department store chain owned by Wesfarmers. It operates 172 stores in Australia and 15 in New Zealand, with its head office located in Mulgrave, Victoria. Wesfarmers uses the Kmart name under licence from Sears Holdings Corporation.-History:Kmart Australia...

 also use the Aurora service to broadcast their in-store radio to different locations in Australia.

See also

  • Viewer Access Satellite Television
    Viewer Access Satellite Television
    The Viewer Access Satellite Television service, or VAST, is a satellite television platform in Australia, providing digital television and radio services to remote and black spot areas using the Optus C1 satellite. It is partly funded by the Australian Government and managed through a joint-venture...

  • Regional television in Australia
    Regional television in Australia
    Regional television is a term given to local television services in areas outside of the five main Australian cities .-1960s:...

  • Australian television
    Australian television
    Television in Australia began experimentally as early as 1929 in Melbourne with stations 3DB and 3UZ using the Radiovision system by Gilbert Miles and Donal McDonald, and later from other locations, such as Brisbane in 1934....

  • Australian television broadcasting
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