At the Ordinary Meeting of Council on November 27th 2024, Council made the decision to decommission the TV retransmission service effective from 23 June 2026.
Why is this service being decommissioned?
As outlined in the letter sent to impacted ratepayers this week, the decision was made taking the following factors into consideration:
- The service is no longer economically viable, resulting in a net cost of -$435,865 to the Shire since its inception, and ongoing maintenance and upkeep costs continue to increase due to the technological challenges.
- Only a small number of ratepayers use the service, however, all ratepayers are contributing to the cost through annual rates. (94 properties declared they used this service in a recent survey whilst the Shire currently has 905 rateable properties.)
- It is only available to Wongan Hills townsite properties with close enough proximity to the tower and no line-of-sight issues, thus this service is not available to many ratepayers.
- The Shire acknowledges that, in particular over the past few years, this service has been operating inconsistently. The issue that is faced is that the quality and consistency of this service is out of the Shire’s control with the technology being outdated.
- The service provider is based in Queensland, causing delays in addressing on-site issues and increases the service instability. It is not economically viable to engage another service provider.
- The Shire’s retransmission licences expire on 22 June 2026, making this the most practical timeline, whilst also providing residents with 18 months’ notice.
Want to learn more?
Join us for an information session to ask any questions you may have and find out information and resources for options moving forward:
📅 Date: Wednesday, 12 February
🕒 Time: 6:00 pm
📍 Location: Wongan Hills CRC Function Room
Please note: Letters regarding this decision were sent to ratepayers who currently have access to this service. It is the responsibility of ratepayers to inform their tenants.
A brochure with further information will be published on or before 12 February and will be made available at the information session as well as the Shire’s website, the Boomer, Facebook, and over the counter.
Have a question about this change?
If you have any questions, please contact the Shire via the contact information provided below:
✉️ shire@wongan.wa.gov.au
📞 9671 2500
Decommissioning of Wongan Hills Television Retransmission Service