Rollout of digital radio in Australia

Digital radio services are to be implemented in Australia in a progressive manner. Under this approach, digital radio will supplement existing analog radio services for a considerable period, and may never be a complete replacement.

The first digital radio services will commence in the state capital city markets on or before 1 January 2009 using the Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) technology. The legislation also provides for the specification of a start date for DAB digital radio services in regional markets.

The use of DAB as the primary platform for digital radio in Australia has the strong support of the Australian radio industry. Permanent DAB services are already provided in a number of countries and, importantly for a small market like Australia, there is a range of reasonably priced DAB consumer receivers available.

However, the DAB platform may be unable to replicate the extensive broadcast coverage of some AM services. In this regard, the legislation specifies a review, by 1 January 2011, of technologies for the transmission of digital radio broadcasting services in regional licence areas.

The review will allow for the consideration of issues such as the availability and price of reception equipment and the coverage characteristics of the various digital radio technologies. In the light of these findings, the review will also consider whether any adjustment to the regulatory framework is necessary.

One technology that will be considered in this review is Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM). At this time DRM is not a widely deployed technology and only a limited range of consumer receivers are currently manufactured. A number of technical trials of DRM have been conducted and are ongoing with the approval of the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

• Document ID: 70866 |
• Last modified: 13 March 2008, 9:11pm