KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia�Joan Warner, Asia PacifIc Chair of WorldDMB and the CEO of Commercial Radio Australia CEO, gave the keynote speech at last week�sDigital Broadcasting Symposium in Kuala Lumpur.�
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The entirety of the speech can be readhere, as reported in Asiaradiotoday.com.� I will, however, give you a list of highlights of her speech.
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�Radio is still one of the most influential, most loved and most used of media in this region (Asia Pacific).
�Radio is often forgotten or overlooked and we are sometimes so bedazzled by the glamour of new media that we forget the very real and important role broadcast radio plays in the lives of tens of millions of people every day.
�…There is no reason for radio broadcasters to accept that they should remain forever in a limited analog environment when every other medium is moving to digital.
�And as I�ve said many times, mobile networks simply cannot provide a robust, high quality, free-to-air alternative to radio�s broadcast power.
�I often relate how my mobile phone drops out as I drive to work in Australia�s biggest city � sometimes simply because a large truck drives by or I pass a tree or a building �.
�Streaming does have a place in radio�s future but not as a replacement for the reliability and robustness of broadcast in delivering vital news, information etc to massive audiences live at the same time.
�Broadcasters cannot afford to trust their future and their audiences to a less reliable, less robust platform and put at risk the rights of millions of people to easy to access, live, local, high quality content � that via broadcast does not use up a data allowance or put unnecessary strain on the battery of a mobile device as streaming does.
�Adoption of DAB+ in the region would open up the mass market that the manufacturers are looking for, to drive the ongoing innovation in receivers.
�One of WorldDMB�s key focuses in this next 12 months is working with handset manufacturers to make free broadcast DAB+ available in smartphones � this is the next big step up for the technology.
�WorldDMB also works closely with vehicle manufacturers from around the world.�
Ms. Warner�s speech also included an interesting graphic showing DAB progress in the Asia Pacific region, shown above.�
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