ABC says its digital transition won’t leave the Pilbara behind despite the region’s lagging network connection

Despite most of the region not having mobile coverage and a council’s recent claims of lagging telecommunication infrastructure, the ABC says that its digital news transition won’t leave the Pilbara behind. The ABC’s recently announced restructuring will see the organisation focus less on traditional broadcasting and move toward digital news which requires viewers to be connected to the internet. Issues with the Pilbara’s telecommunication network were highlighted recently at the East Pilbara June council meeting where the Shire considered preparing an issue paper on regional and remote telecommunication infrastructure. Deputy president Wendy McWhirter Brooks had said that the poor coverage in the Pilbara negatively affected people’s ability to consume digitally delivered news. “It’s all the same story,” she said. “If you haven’t got mobile coverage you can’t download the news. “And we read news online.” Despite the poor mobile coverage in the Pilbara and the ABC’s digital transition, an ABC spokesperson said the corporation would continue to provide the region news through traditional broadcast mediums. “The ABC remains committed to local radio and television broadcasting in the Pilbara and across WA,” they said. “More and more Australians — whether they live in the city or in regional areas — are moving to digital platforms to access their audio and screen content. The ABC is moving with them. “But that doesn’t mean that we are abandoning traditional broadcast platforms, particularly in regional Australia.” The majority of the Pilbara is not covered by any mobile network provider with only large towns and parts of major roadways receiving coverage. As part of the restructuring, the ABC is cutting 120 staff, including national political editor Andrew Probyn, and the entire standalone Arts team. The restructure will see new digital roles created as well as a digital-first 10-minute reintroduction of Stateline. The eight State-based Sunday night news bulletins will also go as part of the restructure and will be replaced by a national bulletin. Despite the loss of the WA Sunday night bulletin, an ABC spokesperson said the corporation was still committed to AM radio in the Pilbara. “The ABC has absolutely no intention of withdrawing its AM services from the Pilbara or any other regions of Australia,” they said.