SYDNEY�Australian radio listeners have long demonstrated support for DAB+ radio; and now Australian Communications�Minister Malcolm Turnbull has released areport�recommending the establishment of a Digital Radio Planning Committee for regional Australia, to be chaired by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
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One assertion in thereportis that the Government should remove obstacles and instead facilitate industry planning and implementation of digital radio.� Incentives are suggested that will precipitate prompt action in regional areas, such as the removal of restrictions on who can provide digital radio if regional services are not on-air by mid-2018, according toradioinfo.com.au.
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The report also recommends removing the current restrictions on new digital-only licensees, both in metropolitan and regional areas.
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Since the launch of DAB+ digital radio in metropolitan Australia in 2009, DAB+ listening continues to outperform expectations, with 3.2 million people (or nearly 25 percent) now listening� to radio each week using a DAB+ in the five metropolitan capitals. Twenty six vehicle manufacturers in Australia now include DAB+ digital radio, and more than 190,000 vehicles with the technology have been sold.�
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