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 rural areas, as well as viewers in terrestrial black spots. The service using the Optus C1 and Optus D3 satellites. It is partly funded by the Australian Government and managed through a joint-venture between Southern Cross Media and Imparja Television. It is an even more restricted free-to-view replacement for Optus Aurora providing channels which have been absent (such as a Network Ten affiliate and digital only secondary and HD network channels) on the remote service until now. Also the replacement black spot service uses only H.264 video encoding and 8PSK for the additional channels, which allows for more lower bit rate channels on the limited transponder space that's available. The EPG uses an MHEG-5 guide instead of the usual more compatible DVB EIT.

On 10 January 2010, the Australian Government announced a new satellite service to deliver digital television and radio channels to Australian viewers who reside in remote and rural areas, or who can't obtain adequate television signal in an existing metropolitan or regional terrestrial broadcast area, commonly referred to as being in a black spot. Initially, the service was only available to viewers in and around Mildura, Victoria, to coincide with Australia's first analog television switch-off. On 15 December 2010, the service was made available to viewers in the existing Remote Central and Eastern Australia and Mt Isa licence areas. In April 2011, the Western VAST service began for Regional and Remote Western Australia viewers.

Anyone is entitled to access ABC and SBS channels on the VAST service, after completing a successful application, regardless of location within Australia.

Several different groups of people are currently entitled to use the VAST service to receive commercial stations:

¹- It was previously possible to apply for the Optus Aurora service instead, and then move to VAST before the 6-month period preceding digital switchover in the applicable licence area.

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