The author is chairman of the DRM Consortium. Her commentaries appear regularly at radioworld.com.
The Dash(board) Is Your New Laptop
As the owner of a brand-new car, I was struck and amazed when I first saw the infotainment board on its gleaming dashboard. This tablet is big and colorful, while the gear and parking commands are now a miniature set of small buttons placed somewhere on the right of the driving wheel (in the UK we still drive on the left).
It took me some time to work out the various screens and sub screens of my shiny car tablet or info dashboard. A good chunk of space is taken by mobile, Bluetooth, navigation options and so much more. However, radio is still there, fighting hard to keep its place on the dash amidst the many other options.
Among the screens I finally found the one still called “radio.”
The first thing I did was program my favorite radio channels — both analog and digital — which I immediately voice activated to check their audio quality as no text or extra information was available.
Nowadays the accepted wisdom is that, to combine reach and engagement, as well as marketing or monetizing opportunities, you need a shiny set of metadata, which includes anything from station logos to images, album covers, song titles, etc.
[Related: “Getting the Most From Metadata Is a Mindset Issue“]
Metadata – How New Is It?
Not that new, though the new-look dashboards give it a very 21st century feel. Some of the FM stations use RDS (Radio Data System, a standard used for embedding small amounts of digital information like time, station identification and program information) in their broadcasts. Other more sophisticated digital systems promise to offer a wider range of services from curated and checked sources.
Using metadata opens a new level of partnerships with suppliers that need to be secure, IP proof and not subject to rogue AI interference. Some companies offer to be that safe go-between, at a cost and with the understanding that listener information garnered from use of metadata will be stored and used further, maybe even monetized.
But metadata is not just for fun. And the value of extra information during disasters and wars, on digital FM, but especially AM, cannot be overstated. This year we have heard terrifying news from Japan to the U.S., Indonesia, India, Pakistan, China and several European countries. This probably also explains the pressure on the American Congress to pass the act on having AM in all the vehicles.
Quietly but surely other countries have gone this same way and even further. In September 2024, key Chinese ministries solicited opinions on the revision and development plan for the mandatory national standard for “In-Vehicle Wireless Reception System.”
[Related: “Now Is the Time to Save AM in Cars Using Digital“]
In October, the positive feedback (including from 31 Chinese car brands) meant that a new mandatory national standard will be established, and the completion is to be achieved within 22 months. When the standard is released, this will most likely mandate Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) support as this is seen as a sure way of securing citizens’ safety in time of need.
By the end of this year, DRM should be released as a national Chinese standard. And the DRM Emergency Warning Functionality (EWF), integral to the standard, will be incorporated into the national emergency broadcasting system, as the standardization work has already started to be finished by September 2025. The incubator center for this DRM activities in the YunNan province (large region bordering India) is seen as an ideal location for road testing of in-vehicle DRM reception with all additional data.
DRM, as the only global, all broadcast frequency bands open standard, uses various additional data services, including Journaline with images, DRM Text Messages in different languages, etc., as an integral part of the standard. As a DRM feature is its flexibility, DRM AM transmissions can also be directed only towards the affected areas, with sound, text, images, maps and other information in more than one language.
The service has been successfully demonstrated in India, and is being deployed on the FM band in Indonesia. As the car numbers are growing exponentially (in India alone over 6 million new cars have been equipped with digital DRM receivers since 2017), being able to get all the audio and text information you need while driving your modern car is essential.
Digital Radio — The Shortest Path to Metadata
Whether for infotainment or emergency purposes, digital radio belongs firmly to the new dashboard. “Not to dash” is not an option. But going overboard and presuming that drivers and their passengers will use any surface in the car to play videos and Candy Crush is a step too far for many, primarily due to safety. As is the idea that any shiny surface in your car is made for advertising and will bring a lot of revenue and a big return on investment.
Digital radio, like DRM, and other open standards, has all the tools to create the experience car listeners need. Also, avoiding third parties and making, instead, the verified metadata integral to digital radio. Rich digital content remains thus in the hands of independent broadcasters, and they can also be the authorities’ trusted partners in case of emergencies.
