Television in remote Indigenous communities.....

Until 1987, (with the launch of Aussat Satellite) free-to-air television was not available in remote areas of Australia.  Aboriginal people in remote communities of Australia however, had been making their own video  and transmitting it locally for at least  five years.  The development of ICTV was a way for Indigenous people living in remote communities of Australia to share the videos they had been making with other Indigenous people living in remote communities. The map below (courtesy of ACMA) shows all the communities that received ICTV prior to  July 13 2007.

Around 79 remote Indigenous communities  currently have community broadcast licences which enable them to broadcast their own radio and television content locally.  About another 70 remote communities have Open Narrowcast Television Licences (Refer www.acma.gov.au).  These licences are not for the retransmission of any particular service.  It is up to the community to choose their own content, which may be locally produced.