DIGITAL BRITAIN: report sets switch-off date for national analogue radio
First it was on, then it was off – now, with today's publication of the Digital Britain report, it seems that there is a switch-off date for the majority of analogue radio services in the UK. And it's only six years away.
The report says that in order for radio to grow, it's necessary for there to be 'clarity and commitment to the DAB platform.' And to hasten this, it says that 'At the heart of our vision is the delivery of a Digital Radio Upgrade programme by the end of 2015.'
And what will happen in this Upgrade Programme? Well, it will be 'implemented on a single date, which will be announced at least two years in advance.
'On the determined date all services carried on the national and local DAB multiplexes will cease broadcasting on analogue. At the same time, a new tier of ultra-local radio, consisting of small local commercial stations and community stations, will occupy the vacated FM spectrum.
'Radio services on MW will either upgrade to DAB or, if they are within the ultra-local tier, to FM. This will deliver an upgrade from FM to DAB and from MW to FM.'
The criteria for the switch-off date are that 50% of listening is to digital radio, national DAB coverage is comparable to FM coverage, and local radio reaches 90% of the population and all major roads.
The report expects these criteria to be met by the end of 2013.
As part of this the report welcomes manufacturers' commitment to making sub-£20 DAB receivers in the next two years, and urges them to look at 'FM rebroadcasters' - set-top DAB-to-FM adapter boxes.
In the in-car arena, the report commits the Government to working with car manufacturers to ensure all new cars have DAB radios by the end of 2013, encourage the development of converters such as the Pure Highway (illustrated), and build DAB into sat-nav devices.
Comments
Thank God I have a huge audio collection on CD etc.
They always go on about the increased quality and reduction in interference with digital but IMHO DAB is very poor.
I have an old Sanyo Transworld radio in my kithchen which has everything from 49m, through SW1&2 to LW and have NEVER had problems with interference like I did when I replaced it with a DAB unit. Needless to say within a couple of days the Sanyo was taken back out of the cupboard...
Yes, total coincidence. proffski. This report has been in the making for ages, and of course the USA fouled up the original analogue TV switch off. It should have heppened in February...
Is it a coincidence that the report came out within a few days of the US turning off all* its analogue TV?
There is a VHF equivalent of DRM which would be a better solution for radio. As presently constituted DAB requires stations to negotiate for access onto multiplexes. By their nature these are owned by the 'big players' who do not have supporting their competition very high on the agenda. Look for the marginalisation of local broadcasting, followed by its extinction 'by market forces' in due course.
Lowest common denominator for the UK.
The medium where violins sound like chain saws and transients like kippers being smacked together and that is not mentioning the really bad artefcts.
Ho hum, guess it is back to banging the rocks together guys...
So in about 6 years we will see the first reports about Britons who get horrible migraine after having been exposed to radio. DAB is the worst sub-standard audio I have ever experienced. The people who push this standard obviously never have tried it.
I've had two DAB radio's both of which have packed up within a year and a half and as for reception it was almost useless with poor to non existent most of the time. Also the sound quality was rubbish rubbish rubbish not a patch on FM, I was going to replace my HIFI tuner with a DAB one but after my experience I'll just stick with my £500 unit. No wonder DAB has been a dead loss in the UK with not much interest shown. Funny how Europe have also given up on DAB as the quality is so bad and has switched to DAB+ which has better sound quality but is not compatible with the old DAB standard.
Another case of flogging us in the UK sub standard service so they can make money flogging of the bandwidth just like freeview TV.