by the late 1990s, the national transmission agency had closely integrated all the former national broadcast planners from the department of transport and communications and the former transmission engineers from telstra broadcasting. the oversight by the agency over several years had created a single discrete entity and cost centre for the national broadcasting service. a public request for tender on the national transmission network was made and a sale negotiated. the successful tenderer was ntl australia. nta staff were given the option of transferring to ntl australia, those who did not avail themselves of the option generally were placed in other positions within the aba. the sale concluded almost 70 years of public ownership of the national broadcasting service which had commenced in 1929 with the purchase by the commonwealth of australia of the first class a broadcasting services.