The Digital Radio Mondiale Consortium is highlighting Europe’s December digital radio milepost as a useful marker for other parts of the world while reminding the industry that even in Europe, there is more than one standard.
In a press release, the consortium said it welcomes the European Electronic Communications Code of 2018 that is now taking effect. That code “recommends in a technology-neutral form that any car for rent or sale should have a radio receiver capable of receiving services provided via ‘digital terrestrial radio broadcasting’ (without specifying any particular digital standard),” DRM noted.
EU member countries are supposed to turn that code into national legislation by Dec. 21 of this year. Several countries including Germany, the U.K. and Italy have introduced relevant regulations while others have started the process.
[Related: WorldDAB Urges EU Members to Meet Digital Radio Deadline]
DRM wrote that the EECC initiative in Europe “serves as a good example to all the countries and administrations around the world adopting or considering the rollout of DRM technology.”
WorldDAB has said recently that “DAB is now firmly established as the core future platform for radio in Europe.”
But DRM stated in its own release: “Even within Europe, digital terrestrial radio broadcasting covers more than one standard. With international DRM transmissions on the air in Europe and from other parts of the world into Europe, such an overarching act [as the EECC] can hasten radio digitization. Existing multistandard chipsets allow for one or two complementary standards to be used so that listeners have access to a variety of services provided nationally and internationally.”
“So even in Europe, adding DRM to car receivers in addition to DAB+ would be a good service for listeners as programs are available, and this would be fully be in line with EECC.”
Chairman Ruxandra Obreja thinks the act will cause the car industry to take note “and work even harder for the multi-standard solutions that could be introduced even in Eastern Europe and parts of Asia and Africa.”
DRM also wrote that since 2018, “disaster and emergency warnings have become crucial, and including the related digital radio feature EWF as a mandatory feature would strengthen the act.”
Separately, DRM said that Pakistani public broadcaster Pakistan Broadcasting Corp./Radio Pakistan recently announced a three-stage plan to digitize its operations using DRM technology. “The budget for each phase of the project is currently under the consideration of the government,” it stated on its website. “Radio Pakistan has now decided in principle to install a 100 kW digital transmitter on the land of Sariab Quetta.”
