Expect more talk about HD Radio’s possible impact in Europe.
Last fall, we learned Ibiquity Digital had signed its first license with a Latin American transmission manufacturer. Now the technology developer has licensed R.V.R. Elettronica S.p.A. to manufacture and sell AM and FM HD Radio transmission products in Europe.
The company installed analog and digital power amplifiers and an RF combiner for what proponents called the first European HD Radio technology trial, on 88 Radio Sunshine, near Lucerne, Switzerland, last year. An R.V.R. spokesman said the company hopes the deal allows them to play a prominent role in the HD-R rollouts in Italy and other European countries.
As Eureka-147 has really only taken off in the U.K., it’s conceivable other countries might turn to HD Radio for their FM systems and possibly Digital Radio Mondiale for AM, sources have told me several times. This could happen alone or in conjunction with Eureka, should countries that have adopted the latter format not want to abandon the technology.
At the NAB Radio Show last fall, Ibiquity signed Latin American transmission manufacturer Continental Lensa.
As RW Online reported at the time, several equipment companies and broadcasters took part in an HD Radio demonstration in Lucerne last year in what was dubbed the first “public” demo of the technology in Europe. Companies involved included Broadcast Electronics, APT, Audemat-Aztec, Sanyo and technology developer Ibiquity Digital.
