Austar

Austar
Company type	Public (until 2012)
Industry	Telecommunications, subscription television
Founded	1995
Defunct	2012
Fate	Acquired by Foxtel and merged into Foxtel operations
Headquarters	Sydney, Australia
Area served	Regional Australia, including New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory
Products	Subscription television, internet connectivity, mobile phone services
Parent	Foxtel (from 2012)

Austar was an Australian telecommunications provider established in 1995 under the name Community Entertainment Television (CETV), primarily specializing in subscription-based television services. The company also extended its offerings to include internet connectivity and mobile phone services.

As of 30 June 2010, Austar had amassed a subscriber count of 747,148, positioning it as the leading subscription TV operator across both metropolitan and regional Australia. Its services reached approximately 2.4 million households—roughly one-third of all Australian residences—mainly through digital satellite technology, alongside operating a digital cable system within Darwin.

In 2012, Austar was acquired by Foxtel, which progressively merged Austar’s operations into a unified national platform. By late 2013, Foxtel completed the migration of all accounts and discontinued Austar’s MyStar online offerings. Satellite customers transitioned to Foxtel IQ devices replacing the MyStar units, and by 2014, the Austar brand was fully retired.

Additionally, Austar collaborated with Namco Bandai Partners to deliver services for the Sega Channel within Australia.

Foxtel takeover

On 11 July 2011, Austar entered into binding agreements with Liberty Global (LGI) and Foxtel concerning its acquisition through a scheme of arrangement. This process required consent from minority shareholders on 30 March 2012, followed by approval from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission on 10 April 2012, as well as clearance from a Second Court Hearing. Consequently, Austar's shares were suspended from trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) starting 16 April 2012 and officially delisted on 27 April 2012. The acquisition finalized on 24 May 2012.

Subscription television (Austar Television/Austar Digital)

Subscriber Growth Over Time
Year	Subscriber Count
1998	300,000
2000	400,000
2004	443,000
2005	Over 500,000
2006	Over 600,000
2007	658,087
2008	713,000
June 2010	747,148
2011	755,374

Austar’s principal operation centered on subscription television targeting regional areas beyond Australia's major cities. It delivered content aggregated from Foxtel and Optus via a digital platform.

The service reached around 2.4 million homes in regional New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory. Its subscriber base ranked second only to Foxtel's nationwide figures. Distribution was facilitated through the Optus C-Class Satellite and digital cable infrastructure in Darwin.

On Demand (Featured)

Austar On Demand provided weekly program releases to users of MyStar set-top boxes before being supplanted by Foxtel On Demand.

Austar AnyWhere

Austar AnyWhere served as an online television platform enabling subscribers to stream or download full-length episodes; this service ceased operations on 30 June 2013.

The MyStar personal digital recorder

Introduced in late 2007 with full deployment by February 2008, MyStar was Austar’s premier set-top box model. The latest iteration, T500, incorporated four tuners—two satellite and two terrestrial—allowing users to watch and record standard definition free-to-air channels accompanied by electronic program guides for key networks. However, due to processor constraints, only two tuners could be active simultaneously.

The device featured a hard drive capacity of 160 GB (with approximately 120 GB accessible to users), supporting up to around sixty hours of recording time. Macrovision copy protection prevented transferring recorded content externally. It also enabled one-hour time-shifting functionality.

Dolby Digital Surround Sound was available for select programming when used with compatible audio equipment; however, volume adjustments required external devices when utilizing optical or coaxial audio outputs. Additional capabilities included closed captioning and selectable aspect ratios accessible via remote control.

Connectivity options comprised component video output, coaxial and optical digital audio ports, composite video, S-Video output, RF out, USB ports, and Ethernet connections primarily intended for software updates.

The MyStar remote control closely resembled the Austar Digital remote but added dedicated buttons for recording and playback functions; it shared similarities with the Foxtel iQ remote design aside from branding distinctions.

The subsequent generation MyStar HD was launched on 15 November 2009 with immediate installations commencing thereafter. This model supported high-definition content at up to 1080i resolution and included a larger hard disk of 320 GB—half reserved for On Demand content introduced in early 2010. HDMI output facilitated native HD viewing capabilities. Available models included T600 and T601.

Austar intended for MyStar HD to serve as its primary set-top box offering enhanced video-on-demand features and web content integration with an updated user interface planned for late 2011 or early 2012. Following Foxtel’s acquisition of Austar, these plans were altered. Initially scheduled for discontinuation by 2014, Foxtel began providing IQHD satellite boxes to former Austar customers in November 2013 without requiring immediate replacement of existing MyStar units. Upgrades remained optional ahead of IQ3’s introduction in 2015.

Criticism of MyStar

Since its introduction, MyStar encountered ongoing technical difficulties such as screen blackouts, failed recordings, system freezes, and unexpected power restarts. Austar assigned a specialized team to swiftly manage and resolve these issues as they were reported.

Austar Mobile (mobile telecommunications)

Established in 2000, Austar Mobile provided services through resale agreements utilizing the Optus GSM network. After Telstra discontinued its CDMA network, Austar Mobile relied solely on Optus infrastructure. By 31 December 2009, the subscriber base numbered 19,970 customers.

Dial-up internet service (Austarnet)

In August 2011, Austarnet declared its withdrawal from the internet service sector, ceasing all operations effective 30 September 2011.

Broadband internet service (Austar Broadband)

Initiated in 2006, Austar Broadband conducted pilot programs in the New South Wales towns of Wagga Wagga and Tamworth.

Partnership between Austar and Unwired

In 2005, Austar United partnered with wireless provider Unwired to exchange spectrum licenses aimed at enabling interoperable wireless broadband coverage across Australia. The following year, Austar United, Unwired, and Soul Converged Telecommunications established AUSAlliance to obtain funding through the Australian Government’s Broadband Connect Infrastructure Program and to implement a regional broadband network.

Austar and OPEL consortium agreement

In 2008, Austar reached an arrangement to sell its 2.5 GHz and 3.5 GHz spectrum licenses to the OPEL consortium (comprising Optus and Elders) for A$65 million while entering into a wholesale resale contract with Optus. This transaction was contingent upon the OPEL network rollout; however, it was ultimately canceled when the Australian Government terminated the OPEL initiative.

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