Another government U-Turn - this time on FM local radio?
Brian Butterworth published on UK Free TV Just in case you thought that the Forests were the only government u-turn this week, you might have missed this in Radio Today:
Broadcast Minister Ed Vaizey has confirmed to a group of MPs that the FM waveband will not be switched off and will remain as one of a number of multi platform transmission options for local commercial radio.
Almost twenty MPs from across the UK met with the Minister, and the Secretary of State who was also present, to express their concerns about the implications of Government policy on local radio and expressed strong support for their respective local stations and their desire to see them prosper and flourish in the future.
William Rogers, Chief Executive of UKRD, said he was delighted with the outcome of the meeting and expressed his thanks and appreciation to all the MPs who attended to press the case for
"critically important reviews" in key areas of policy.
"We need a dynamic and vibrant local radio sector with a bright and genuinely multi-platform digital future. Of course DAB is one of many such platforms but the prescriptive, poorly planned and inappropriate imposition of this single platform simply gets in the way of what consumer choice is all about." [said Rogers]
It is not clear if this means that local radio can still simulcast, or that only the areas without DAB multiplexes can retain FM.
It is also unclear if BBC Local Radio will also be retained on FM in areas without local DAB multiplexes.
2:16 PM
this is just another attempt to have a go at fm pirates so they don't grab the frequencies. this is why i hate the bbc so much cos it was a goverment formed company. i also hate the way the bbc use spread spectrum (the same program transmitted from a number of well based transmitters around the country within a couple of mhz so if you're driving along and the signal goes weak with the one you're listening to, it will scan and have more chance of picking up the bbc).they hated the pirates back in the 60's and now they're doing it again. thats my opinion anyway!
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3:25 PM
Is Ed Vaizey is keeping FM for both Local & National radio or just Local ?
Better static than nothing, as will be the case in the Manifold Valley, unless it gets its own brand new DAB transmitter, which considering its very low population is very doubtful. I guess there will be quite a few other such areas but only time will tell. Still there's always RTE Radio 1 which booms in on 252 kHz Long Wave ???
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3:28 PM
Who knows I could be the first Englishman in Derbyshire to morph into someone with a distict Irish accent !!
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3:29 PM
or even distinct !! see my spelling's going already.
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Pete: As it says above, local commercial radio in areas where there is no DAB multiplex.
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4:53 PM
why cant we better quality dab+ like the rest of europe?
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10:55 PM
Quote by Briantist= DAB is intended to provide a choice of listening with reasonable sound quality for mobile and indoor use.
That's not the statement we were all led to believe intially by the Government and the Broadcasters.
But we all know its true.
Personally I now listen to radio on line vie a decent 24bit D/A decoder. £300 in the UK but purchased from China £52,Terrific.
The problem is that you need a good broadband otherwise it keeps buffering.
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11:10 PM
Reading
david: The authorities are too chicken to break the few million DAB-only radios out there.
Oddly, for TV broadcasting they're not afraid to break the 2k-only Freeview boxes, broke some other boxes by splitting the NIT across more than one data packet, and are prepared to offer HD services through yet another incompatible scheme.
My view is that DAB has failed. It won't reach the 50% target. We have to admit the failure quickly, ban any new DAB-only radios from being sold, and start converting. Trouble is, you can't convert a national multiplex on a Single Frequency Network piece by piece. You have to do it overnight.
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Mike's: mapM's Freeview map terrainM's terrain plot wavesM's frequency data M's Freeview Detailed Coverage
9:26 AM
The main DAB concerns remain:-
- coverage, portable and mobile reception
- audio quality
It is extremely unlikely that DAB will be abandoned now. With futher DAB roll-out, reception will improve - to an unpredictable degree. The "least bad" compromise would be to retain FM alongside DAB and allow broadcasters to opt for FM or DAB or both, spectrum permitting. For static reception, internet (for those with a civilised download speed...) and DTT radio will deliver hifi to the living-room sound system.
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