Prime Minister John Howard has defended his government's decision to cancel a scheduled auction of datacasting transmitter licences which, in the end, attracted only one bidder.
Communications Minister Richard Alston cancelled the fourth communications licence auction, scheduled for May 21 this year, due to lack of interest with only one bidder emerging for a licence to provide datacasting in five markets across Australia.
Howard dismissed criticism that overly stringent regulations imposed by the government had dampened interest in datacasting which comprises new forms of media services including text and video delivered through the Internet or television.
"A lot has changed in relation to the whole spectrum scene including a changed market view about the value of investments. These things comes and go," Howard told ABC radio.
The cancellation of the fourth and last communications licence auction could put more pressure on the budget's bottom line with the auction of datacasting licences originally estimated to fetch several hundred million dollars.
The federal government had forecast raising about AU$2.6 billion from spectrum sales in 2000/01 (July-June) but was disappointed to get just over AU$1.1 billion from selling the third generation (3G) mobile phone spectrum which will bring Internet, video and other multimedia capabilities to mobile phones.
But Howard was dismissive of suggestions that cancelling the latest auction would affect the budget, due to be unveiled on May 22.
"The bottom line is whether we have a strong bottom line and we still will have one," Howard said.
"Our budget position is still sound. We will be delivering a balance. I don't agree with the view of some economists that we should go into the red."
Well, well! This is what you get when a bunch of technically inept lawyers and economists try to put together legislation on technology. The internet, porn, gambling - everything receiving a world ridiculing, tecnologically retarded treatment from these clowns!