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[HCDX] UK ready to shift to digital radio by '17: report
Britain could be ready to migrate from analogue to digital radio as early as 2017, according to the final report of UK's Digital Radio Working Group (DRWG).
The group has renewed its commitment to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) and set out a clear path for migration to digital, identifying the criteria that would need to be met for it to happen and when it might occur. The Digital Radio Working Group (DRWG) was established in November 2007 to look at the future of digital radio.
According to DRWG chairman Barry Cox, “With nearly a million DAB sets expected to be sold this Christmas period we know listeners are already benefiting from the choice of channels available at the moment. We have always believed in the future of digital radio and now urge the industry, along with Government and Ofcom to address the barriers to successful migration, so people can access even more choice and functionality in the future. Most importantly, we need to see overall coverage for DAB improve, along with more focus to get motorists to adopt DAB so that it can be a real alternative to FM services.”
The group has singled out three criteria which must be met in order to trigger digital migration. These are: that at least 50 per cent of total radio listening must occur on digital platforms, the national multiplex coverage must be comparable to current FM coverage, and local multiplexes should reach at least 90 per cent of the population, including all major roads.
The group has recommended that Ofcom should monitor progress against the criteria on an ongoing basis and that a date for migration should be announced by Government, ideally two years after the criteria have been met. They believe this could happen as early as 2017.
In order to meet the criteria, the group has highlighted a number of barriers they believe should be overcome, and have suggested possible solutions. In particular, they propose the government relax some of the existing legislative and regulatory burdens placed on the industry, and call for more focus on encouraging motorists to adopt DAB in their cars. They also recommend the Government consider with European colleagues a duty exemption for digital radios in order to enable cheaper sets and drive further take-up.
Commenting on the report, Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said, “This is a crucial time for the radio industry. I am pleased that the Working Group has been able to achieve such consensus and has recognised that there needs to be a strong consumer proposition for digital radio. We will now study the recommendations made by the group very carefully as part of the wider work being undertaken for the ‘Digital Britain’ report. I would like to thank all members of the group for their work in looking at this issue over the past year.”
Barry Cox has been appointed to the Steering Board of Digital Britain to ensure that the overall strategy and direction of its report reflects the important place that digital radio will have in Digital Britain.
The Digital Radio Working Group sets out a long-term preference for the creation of a three tier system of radio in the UK. This would include a wide range of national digital radio services from the BBC and commercial radio, and a sustainable set of local digital services from the BBC and commercial radio covering as much of the UK as possible. A third tier of small scale services focussed on serving the local community would remain on analogue in the short to medium term but move to digital at a later date.
http://www.radioandmusic.com/content/editorial/news/uk-ready-shift-digital-radio-17-report
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Jaisakthivel, ADXC, Chennai, India
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