Lobby group submit slanted document to media authority.
The digital radio inquiry conducted by the media authority ICASA (Reported here July 6) received 22 submissions including some by international stakeholders as the WorldDAB. This organisation is stepping up its efforts enticing South Africa to go DAB. - An experts group at the Swedish NGO the Public Service Council (PSR) in cooperation with the Norwegian Radio Listeners Federation (NRLF) has scrutinized the WorldDAB submission document and subsequently filed critical comments to ICASA. The technical parts have been screened by veteran broadcast engineers in Norway and Sweden.
Inquiry reveals digital radio doubtfulness.
Media authority ICASA has conducted an inquiry in order to examine the prospects of implementation of digital sound broadcasting services. Most entries are submitted by broadcasters in South Africa but also from international stakeholders as WorldDAB and DRM Consortium. The most of the 22 submissions clearly indicate that analogue FM radio should be retained and terrestrial digital radio should only be introduced as a complement. Input indicates that both the DAB and the DRM system might be introduced in South Africa.
Another setback for DAB promoters in Denmark
The government and the Danish People's Party (DF) have entered the final phase of the parliamentarian negotiations on the media settlement that will form the framework for the country's media 2019-2024. On the way to the negotiations with Minister of Culture Mette Bock (LA), DF media chairman Morten Marinus states that the media agreement will not open for the government proposed FM switch-off. The idea of a switch-off was to push forward a transition to digital terrestrial DAB radio.
"Why should millions be invested in a technology that is outdated tomorrow?"
Business federations in the federal state of Lower Saxony want to end the digital radio DAB+. The state Court of Auditors is also critical. We talk about digitalization, broadband and the 5G standard being within reach, so why should millions be invested in a technology that is outdated tomorrow? says Volker Müller, CEO of Unternehmerverbände (Employers' organizations).
Analogue and digital radio will co-exist also in the future
Consumer Center South Tyrol welcomes the statement of th regional government that FM broadcasting will continue to function. Earlier the broadcaster Rundfunkanstalt Südtirol (RAS) had taken the position that the old analogue FM network would eventually coming to a switch-off. Many radio listeners were worried that their FM radios would then be dead.
NATO can override national DAB radio frequencies.
Thousands of ordinary Norwegian citizens aren’t the only ones frustrated and dissatisfied after Norway’s forced transition to DAB radio. It meant shutting down FM radio, and now NATO may find itself in conflict with the civilian DAB frequencies it was granted for exercises in Norway. Nagging problems and conflicts continue to arise. Politicians and authorities were reportedly warned before they imposed DAB on the civilian population that it could cause problems in crisis situations. (Picture: Aftenposten)
