ABC radio chiefs are looking into an IT fault, which cut news bulletins yesterday in NSW.

The 5.30am and 6.30am bulletins were lost, before news eventually was networked from interstate.

Quick action meant everything was back to normal for the 8am bulletin.

Before a back up server kicked in, frustrated journalists could not access their computers to write stories and updates.

Meanwhile, in the wash up of TARBS going into receivership, The NTC Network is again off the air during the Tamworth Country Music festival this weekend.

On Wednesday at 11.05am, Pan AM Sat – which provided four of eight transponders – pulled the plug on all Tarbs satellite space because of late payment of fees.

Without notice, this included the NTC Network and its sister station, 2ME.

Kerrie Chalmers, General Manager of 2ME and NTC, says “This always happens during country music festivals.

“All NTC and 2ME transmissions were, ‘in all good faith’, thought to be secure through Tarbs and this sudden ‘yanked off the air business’ is not only a fundamental breach of contract – but never even anticipated or accounted for.”

2ME, the Arabic Network, had engineers working frantically before succeeding in getting a ‘live’ signal back to air from its Homebush Bay tower site.

Chalmers says “We’re working around the clock, again, this time to lock in a new satellite agreement to provide platform to get the multitude of our 2ME/NTC transmitters back on air in regional and capital cities.”