HD Radio On Trial in Norway

All-digital mode gives unexpected range of reach. Challenge to DAB+ and DRM+

An up to day successful trial with the U.S. digital radio technology HD Radio (IBOC) has started in Oslo managed by the Norwegian Local Radio Association (NLR). The station is Radio Nero on 98,7 MHz.

In contrary to the standard setup for HD Radio in the U.S. with the main channel in both analogue and digital mode this transmission is all-digital. Because of this the range of reach - with no signal loss - is surprisingly good even with this 100 watt transmitter in Oslo.

Swedish Broadcast Provider Makes Major Investment in FM Radio

Upgrade of the national FM network indicates less belief in the future for DAB+

The state-owned radio- and television broadcast provider Teracom has signed a contract with GatesAir in Cincinnati USA for a network-wide FM upgrade.Teracom selected GatesAir Flexiva transmitters, and the initial rollout phase will conclude in the first quarter of 2015, with installations scheduled for one dozen of its 30-plus FM stations. The remaining installations will conclude in 2016. - This investment indicates that Teracom is counting on that the FM network is not going to be closed for a for-seeable future.

Commercial Radio in Hamburg Rejects DAB+

Limited interest for DAB radio on the local market

The two major privately owned radio stations in Hamburg - Radio Hamburg and Alster Radio - abstain from applying for DAB+ license at the local state media authority.

The CEO of Radio Hamburg Carsten Neitzel says that the sale of DAB receivers is in no proportion to the annual sale of 200-250.000 FM receivers in Germany.

DAB Radio in Norway: The Lobby Gets Its Own Local Radio Association

Big Radio Business Leaves The National Local Radio Association

A new association for local radio in Norway is set up in opposition to the long established Norwegian Local Radio Association (NLR).
The NLR chairman says that the new organisation is set up in order to split the radio sector and is de facto an organisation for promoting the DAB radio system. The suspicion is that the two major commercial radio networks is behind the new organisation.

What's True About Mobile Broadband Broadcasting?

Biased "research reports" ignore the impact of LTE technology

It is claimed that the large download capacity provided by the wireless communication standard 4G/LTE will solve all problems for the IP distribution of radio, and maybe even television, services to mobile devices. According to broadcasting organizations such statements represent an oversimplification of a complex problem, including various non-technical aspects such as net neutrality, and costs writes EBU. 

However, after three much toted reports the broadcasting sector have not yet presented the complete picture but rather leaving out the decisive facts of the capacity growth for future 4G and 5G as well as recent developments of the LTE Broadcast multicast technology.

First Wide-scale 700MHz LTE Broadcast Trial Launched

Will broadband operators become also broadcasters?

Nokia Networks (Finland) has announced what it says will be the world’s first field trial of wide-area LTE Broadcast technology, using a single LTE frequency within the UHF spectrum in Munich, Germany. This technology can be used both for radio and for television.

The single frequency network (SFN)-based trial will see all base stations use exactly the same frequency to transmit TV content, which maximises the number of simultaneous TV channels broadcast over a large geographical area in a given amount of spectrum. The use of LTE Broadcast will enable users to watch TV without eating into their mobile data plan and will be independent of network load. 

DAB Radio Listening Share Stays Flat in the UK

FM radio is losing to online listening, but not to DAB.

Digital radio listening share remains flat at 36.8% year on year with listening hours for Q2 2014 with 378 million hours being listened to in an average week. DAB radio has a share of 65% of all digital  hours (24% of total hours). Listening via DTV (Digital Television) represents 13% (5% of total) and Online 17% (6% of total) of all digital listening hours according to the Rajar report.

Norway Might Reconsider FM Radio Closure

Local radio wants to keep FM. Few cars have DAB radio.

The much toted introduction of DAB radio in Norway is not yet succesfull. The FM network is planned to be closed for public service and major commercial radio stations 2017-19 but still only 12 percent of the cars are equipped for DAB+. Also there is a fierce resistance from the local radio sphere which do not want to leave FM for DAB+. The future fate of 16 million FM-receivers is still unknown.

The Departement of Culture is presently working on a proposition to the parliament - Stortinget - about the continued DAB developments which was decided on 2011. One of the two parties in the conservative coalition government - the Progressive Party (Frp) - which also is in charge of the Finance Departement - will propose that the decision to close down the FM network should be reconsidered. Today, Norway is the only country in the world with a set closure date for FM.

Rapid development for British community radio

The new Community radio was introduced in the United Kingdom 2005. Since then 294 licensees have been granted in three rounds based on a total of 507 applications from all parts of the country.  222 stations are on air today. Most are on FM , but six are broadcasting on AM (Medium wave).
Read the full listing.   

First South African Digital Radio on Medium Waves

The first DRM transmission in South Africa is on air from July 1. Radio Pulpit is starting a trial on 1440 kHz broadcasting using a 25kW transmitter (and broadcasting 10kW DRM30) using a low profile antenna. The broadcast, with up to two programs and eventually all the extra features, will cover greater Pretoria and parts of Johannesburg. 

First Global Online Radio Awards

Mixcloud, a leading global online platform for on-demand radio, and International Radio Festival (IRF) are calling for submissions for the first annual Mixcloud & IRF Online Radio Awards in Zurich 3-6 September 2014. 
Anyone, anywhere in the world, will be able to nominate a show or a station simply by filling in a form at www.mixcloud.com/onlineradioawards

Unlimited Audio Without Data Charges on the Internet

Mobile operator first with free audio streaming

T-Mobile's Simple Choice customers are now able to stream all the music they want from all the most popular streaming services, including Pandora, Rhapsody, iHeartRadio, iTunes Radio, Slacker, and Spotify – without ever hitting their high-speed 4G LTE data service. Music services from T-Mobile partners – Samsung's Milk Music and the forthcoming Beatport music app from SFX – will also stream without data charges for T-Mobile customers.