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3.
The Community Channel and the Centennial Park Cable TV Trial
In September 1993, Telecom (Telstra) Australia began a unique experiment
in Centennial Park by operating a year long trial of cable television
to 300 test homes. Telstra had approached Metro Television (now Metro
Screen) seeking to add to the number of channels delivered on the trial
and Metro agreed to collaborate with Telstra to operate a locally originated
channel, called the Community Channel. Telstra contributed equipment,
connection to the cable system and other support. Telstra are to be commended
for their commitment to improving customer services by supporting community
involvement and participation in Australia's new communications infrastructure.
At the end of the Centennial Park Trial, cable television will be progressively
rolled out in an Australia-wide system by Telstra and their competitor,
Optus. 600,000 homes in Sydney and Melbourne and other locations will
be passed by Telstra's cable alone by the end of 1995 with about 20-30%
of homes likely to connect in the first year. The joint Fox Television/Telstra
Foxtel system is planned to launch in October this year and will carry
many providers (e.g. Galaxy, Foxtel and others, including Arabic, Chinese
and Italian) of subscription or pay television channels. Optus Vision
will launch its rival service shortly after in conjunction with Channels
Nine and Seven and overseas partners and will also carry language and
culture-based services.
Supporters of access and equity in the media have also been pushing for
some channels on all cable systems to be mandated by the government as
"basic" (as in the US model) or "open" channels, delivered without charge
for programming. These open channels could include a menu channel, retransmitted
free-to-air broadcast services and a community and educational channel.
Cable will be a localised service complementary to community radio and
the city-wide free-to-air television channels.
The Channel began operations on the 31 October 1993 after one month's
test broadcast and ceased operations a few weeks ago at the close of the
Centennial Park Trial. It was a demonstration local and community-based
nonprofit service where residents and other volunteers were encouraged
to become involved in station operation and program production. It was
the first licensed cable channel to begin operations under an "open narrowcasting"
category Class Licence. Later, the Channel planned to try to gain a permanent
Community Broadcasting Licence.
› Each month approximately 140 hours of programs were put
to air.
› Over 80 hours of locally produced television were made by
channel staff and volunteers and associated groups, including news and
current affairs, arts, music, a children's book show and other programs.
› Over 150 volunteers, including local residents, provided
skilled and unskilled labour on the project and volunteers receive training
in recognition of their efforts.
› Over 80 hours of original television was made by local production
groups.
› Over 200 residents, prospective volunteers and interested
parties attended the regular monthly information nights.
› Several volunteers have moved on to jobs in the industry
and all volunteers have added to their portfolio of work.
› Over 35 community, cultural and educational organisations
were involved in providing program material and support to the channel.
› Sydney University and the Open Training and Education Network
(the distance education provider for TAFE and the Department of School
Education) provide high quality programs.
› Over 50 parties, including government ministers, broadcasters,
regulatory bodies and other industry groups toured the demonstration site.
4. Today
The intermix of nationally co-ordinated, but locally based, community,
cultural and educational nonprofit (CCEN) services in all domains of communications
are a vital part of the foundations of a national communications and information
infrastructure. However, the change in the regulatory regime, allowing
new forprofit "community -like " services has meant that the sector in
presented with its greatest ever challenge to continued viability. The
strategies these commercial operations use when targeting smaller, local
community needs and audiences are the same as, and were mostly initiated
by, nonprofit community organisations and broadcasters.
But what sets community organisations and broadcasting apart from the
rest is that, rather than the existing one-way communications model where
the audience is passive, the community sector is actually more about an
active two-way relationship, one that embraces participation and interaction
between local communities and the organisation , and between and within
the communities of interest who operate and make use of the services.
Community organisations have been involved in this participative or interactive
communication since they began. And their ability to produce specialised,
relevant and sometimes innovative communications methods and train lots
of new skilled people is at the heart of their successful operation. These
benefits of community organisations are still not fully recognised - and
this means there is little of the support necessary for its existence
from government or carriers - as yet - and that's up to you.
The joint Fox Television/Telstra Foxtel system is planned to launch in
October this year and will carry many providers (e.g. Galaxy, Foxtel and
others, including Arabic, Chinese and Italian) of subscription or pay
television channels. Optus Vision will launch its rival service shortly
after in conjunction with Channels Nine and Seven and overseas partners
and will also carry language and culture-based services. There are plans
by Optus Vision, and much more reluctantly by the "new" Telstra and Foxtel,
to offer some kind of community access channels.
The details and outcomes are very unclear at this stage and will take
concerted action and organisation to take advantage of the likely benefits
of this access. Similarly, the struggle to maintain a basic level of universal
service in the phone system will need to be continued.
5. Conclusion: The Future
The future holds out the promise of an abundance of methods of communication
but these technological solutions alone cannot hope to provide greater
access, equity and to ensure a democratic and equally informed society.
A simple proliferation of commercial communications services will not
adequately meet the needs of disadvantaged and diverse, less powerful,
interests. Communications that is affordable and accessible is the best
guarantee of an equitable, informed and flexibly skilled society, and
a society that sees itself as a coherent society, albeit one composed
of a variety of different interests and cultures.
It is communication, not information, not content, not more channels,
that all Australians and all communities of interest have a right to.
Community-based interests require complementary managed access to all
communication domains to equitably fulfill each individual's and each
communities' potential as an informed, involved and creative part of Australian
citizenry.
In order to operate a nonprofit community services in the public interest
community organisations will need support to be viable. Therefore community
services must form a strategic alliance with carriers and governments
(local, state and federal) and with other industry and institutional stakeholders
and receive support from these stakeholders in exchange for the range
of benefits they offer.
In each city and regional area the carrier would provide access for community
services through one or more channels on the cable system through a "hub"
or cable access point initially managed by peak community television organisations.
The telecentres of each network, in libraries and other access points,
would provide Internet access and training, basing locally controlled
World Wide Web pages at these points. The pages would function as the
heart of the centre and allow a two way dialogue between and within communities
of interest, locally - and as far as your communications interests and
needs can take you and your community.
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