A new Radio World ebook explores trends in remote control and facility management; read it here.
One of the experts quoted is Jim DeChant, director of operations for Transmission Services Group LLC. Here he responds in more depth.
Radio World: What do you consider the most important trend in how radio broadcasters control and monitor their transmission facilities?
Jim DeChant: The shift from “reactive polling” to “agentic, IP-native observability.”
While traditional remote control relied on simple status checks (SNMP polling) to tell an engineer if a transmitter was off, modern systems are moving toward intelligent, software-defined environments where the monitoring system acts as an autonomous “copilot.”
RW: To what extent have radio broadcasters created centralized infrastructures for the monitoring and control of their sites?
DeChant: Radio broadcast monitoring is undergoing a significant centralization into Network Operations Centers utilized by major groups like SBG, Nexstar and iHeartMedia.
This consolidation is driven by efficiency and advanced technology across three primary levels.
First, the regional/national NOC model employs a hub-and-spoke system where small, specialized teams use sophisticated dashboards to monitor and remotely troubleshoot hundreds of sites 24/7.
Second, the industry is adopting cloud-native management, shifting monitoring infrastructure to hybrid cloud solutions and utilizing Monitoring-as-a-Service (MaaS) platforms such as Kybio and Skyline DataMiner for secure, web-accessible monitoring.
Finally, centralization now encompasses integrated asset and logistics management, linking technical health with financial data through tools like EZO AssetSonar. Automated systems instantly generate service tickets (Zendesk/ServiceNow) with diagnostic logs and dispatch contract engineers upon system failure, streamlining the entire operational lifecycle.
RW: What kind of customization is available now in remote control and monitoring solutions?
DeChant: In 2026, remote monitoring customization for broadcasters has evolved significantly, moving beyond simple control mapping to deep UI/UX tailoring and workflow automation.
The core areas of this evolution include “No-Code” Dashboard Orchestration, which allows engineers to build persona-based, dynamic interfaces using widgets — from complex RF spectrum views for chief engineers to simple “green/red” status displays for program directors.
Furthermore, customization now includes programmable logic and “agentic” automation, enabling broadcasters to define conditional macros and self-healing routines for tasks like switching transmitters.
The API-First Integration approach, often called the “Lego” approach, permits the seamless overlay of critical external data, such as live weather or power status, with alerts directed to unified communications tools.
Finally, virtual hardware and “soft” control surfaces are replacing physical panels, allowing users to build custom mixing consoles or controllers on touchscreens with physical controls that utilize re-legendable LCDs to adapt their function and appearance based on the station’s operational state.
RW: What kind of connectivity is best suited to supporting today’s needs to control and monitor sites?
DeChant: In 2026, multi-bearer bonding is considered the necessary standard for reliable, mission-critical radio broadcast connectivity, especially at remote sites, making reliance on a single internet service provider unacceptable.
The essential “always-on” hybrid strategy uses a combination of four components. The primary link is fiber (dedicated internet access), chosen for its symmetrical speed and ultra-low latency, and is now deployed with a 99.99% SLA. The secondary link, Starlink (LEO Satellite), has replaced traditional GEO satellites, providing consistently low latency that acts as a critical, air-gapped backup.
The mobility link leverages 5G and Private LTE, with 5G serving as the out-of-band management standard, using network slicing to guarantee critical data transmission. Finally, the crucial component is SD-WAN and bonding, where a router (like Peplink or Cradlepoint) bonds the fiber, Starlink and 5G into a single virtual pipe.
This ensures unbreakable connectivity, as data packets instantly shift to active links if one fails, without dropping the session. The router also enables cost management by routing heavy data over fiber and duplicating critical light data across all links.
RW: What should users and shoppers know about the role of SNMP today?
DeChant: While Simple Network Management Protocol remains the mandatory foundation for radio transmission control in 2026, its role has narrowed. Every modern transmitter must support SNMP, making it a prerequisite rather than an advanced feature.
Buyers must insist on the highly secure SNMP v3, which utilizes AES encryption and SHA-256 authentication to protect public infrastructure, as older versions transmit passwords in plain text. Additionally, the MIB (Management Information Base) file is essential, acting as the device’s dictionary for remote control systems.
For complex, real-time control and high-speed data, manufacturers are increasingly relying on faster REST APIs. The industry is also pivoting from constant bandwidth-heavy “polling” toward efficient Traps (alerts only on issues) and high-speed Streaming Telemetry for sub-second updates.
RW: What questions should an engineer be asking when considering solutions for large-scale control and management?
DeChant: In 2026, the shift in large-scale broadcast control is toward “agentic observability” rather than simple “reactive alerts.”
Modern solutions must first address security and access, which mandates support for SNMPv3 and SAML/SSO to integrate with central identity managers like Azure AD for robust role-based access. Zero-Trust readiness is also key, allowing secure, temporary tokens for remote contractors without persistent VPN risks.
For integration and scalability, solutions need a “Northbound” API to push data to high-level IT tools like DataMiner or Grafana, and must support mass-configuration via “Golden Images” to rapidly deploy new sites. the intelligence and automation pillar demands “agentic” capabilities, such as executing complex logic like automatic signal re-routing, alongside predictive analytics using machine learning to preemptively identify failing hardware.
Finally, resilience is critical, requiring native out-of-band management via a separate path (like 5G) for remote hardware reboots, and log aggregation integration with systems like ELK or Splunk for simplified cross-site troubleshooting.
Read more on this topic in the new ebook.
