Communications Minister Stephen Conroy congratulated the radio industry for working together to get digital radio on air in his opening speech at today’s National Radio Conference in Melbourne. There were no significant announcements made about the industry’s key political issues, although a range of reviews and reports are now in progress that may eventually result in changes to trigger events and regional digital radio spectrum.

He told the audience a digital radio discussion paper will be released next month, exploring spectrum and technologies for regional areas. He said so fat the government has identified 14 MHz of spectrum for the introduction of digital radio in rural areas and is now looking for more spectrum. Once the discussion paper is released, industry comments will be sought.

A review of the regional trigger events is also currently in progress. Conroy says a report will soon be presented to parliament about it, but he gave no guarantees whether the trigger regulations will be removed. He also told the audience a review of converged communications, including radio, is planned for the next 12 months.

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Here is what Senator Conroy had to say in full.

While radio faces increasing competition for audiences, it remains an extremely popular medium, reaching millions of Australians every day.
 
As I’m sure you know, 95 per cent of Australians listen to the radio each week and there are currently around 50 million radio receivers in Australia.
 
Research shows that radio also enjoys a high level of trust among the population – it is often described as the most intimate platform of all media.
Commercial radio broadcasting in Australia has been a core part of our media landscape for over 80 years, and has, over time, introduced new services to meet the changing needs of audiences.
 
The latest wave of innovation is, of course, digital radio, which commenced in mainland state capital cities in July last year.
 
Digital radio is already enjoying great success with early adopters in these cities.
 
I must applaud the cooperative approach of commercial radio broadcasters in promoting and launching digital radio services in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.
 
As you are all aware, digital radio is operating alongside existing analog (AM and FM) radio services, offering a range of benefits to audiences and further enriching the experience for radio listeners.
 
Digital radio technology can provide listeners with better reception, higher quality, greater ease of use and a continually evolving range of additional features.
 
It can also potentially use spectrum more efficiently, enabling an increased range of services and lower transmission costs for broadcasters.
It can even help to overcome many of the reception and interference problems that affect analog radio signals.
 
Continuing to innovate, commercial radio broadcasters have broken new ground in their approach to digital radio.
 
There are now a variety of stations and formats, including comedy, sports, different music genres, unsigned artists, and special event programming.
 
Digital radio represents an exciting frontier in radio broadcasting, and I welcome industry efforts to ensure Australians are able to enjoy this new service.
 
I know that CRA has been working with manufacturers around the world to ensure Australian listeners have access to the best digital technology available.
 
The Government and the industry regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), have encouraged the development of digital radio in Australia.
 
But the commercial radio industry has been the driving force behind digital radio start-up, and I’d like to make special mention here of Joan Warner, who has been an undisputed champion of DABPlus digital radio development in Australia.
 
The Government will continue to work with the industry on the further development of this new technology.
 
I know you are all eager to hear about the Government’s plans for the rollout of digital radio in regional Australia.
 
As you know, there are a number of issues surrounding the regional rollout that need to be considered before any decisions can be made.
 
When the legislation underpinning the introduction of digital radio in mainland state capitals was passed in 2007, it was widely agreed that it was too early to prescribe a technology for regional digital radio.
 
Questions about the appropriate technology needed to be answered – including questions about whether the digital radio technology being used for metropolitan services would be appropriate for regional areas.
 
A particular concern was the ability of this technology to match the coverage of some regional analog radio services, especially AM services.
 
The legislation passed in 2007 therefore required that a review be conducted to examine the appropriateness of various digital radio technologies for regional Australia.
 
My Department, with technical assistance from the ACMA, has commenced work on this review.
 
The Government will release a discussion paper seeking submissions from the radio industry and public as part of the review.
 
I expect to release this paper within the next month, with submissions to be received by 1 January 2011, and I look forward to hearing your views on the appropriate technologies for digital radio in regional Australia.
 
In the meantime, testing of different technologies in regional areas is underway, as commercial radio operators work with the ACMA on the development of regional trials.
 
CRA and SBS commenced a one-year trial of DAB+ digital radio services in Canberra on 14 July this year, as well as in Darwin on 13 August, and I know we are all looking forward to the results of these trials.
 
Of course, technology questions are not the only issues at play in the rollout of digital radio to regional Australia.
 
We know the radio industry has been seeking access to spectrum that will be freed up by the switch-off of analog television.
 
This will help expand digital radio services.
 
In June this year, I announced that the Australian Government had decided to release 126 megahertz of broadcasting spectrum as a digital dividend.
 
This spectrum will become available as a result of the switch to digital-only television broadcasting, which will be completed in Australia by the end of 2013.
 
This presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve the communication services available in Australia.
 
The digital dividend will be released as a contiguous block of spectrum in the upper ultra-high frequency (UHF) band, comprising the frequency range 694 to 820 megahertz.
The Government’s decision on the size and location of the digital dividend is a crucial step in the process of releasing spectrum to enable next generation communications services.
 
It also represents an historic micro-economic reform.
 
In order to release this highly valued spectrum, television broadcasting services will need to be relocated out of the digital dividend and organised more efficiently.
 
This must be done within their remaining spectrum allocation—a process known as ‘restacking’.
 
I have issued a direction to the ACMA to carry out the necessary planning activities to realise the digital dividend.
 
That direction also provides the ACMA with additional policy guidance relating to the planning of broadcasting services in the remaining spectrum, including digital radio in regional Australia.
 
The Government has identified 14 megahertz of spectrum in VHF Band III that will be made available facilitate the rollout of digital radio to rural and regional Australia.
 
The Government is also committed to working with industry to identify additional spectrum that may be utilised for DAB Plus in regional Australia, while considering alternative technologies that may be less spectrum-intensive.
 
We are aiming for digital dividend spectrum to be cleared as soon as possible after the switch-off of analog television at the end of 2013.
 
The switchover program is progressing extremely well – we turned off analog TV in Mildura on 30 June, and will turn off the analog signal in regional South Australia and Broken Hill in just two months – on 15 December.
 
This will be followed by switch off in regional Victoria on 5 May next year, and then regional Queensland in the second half of 2011.
 
The Government is making great progress towards analog TV switch off, and the work to re-stack TV channels has commenced.
 
We are well on track to release the digital dividend spectrum on time, soon after switchover is completed.
I am aware that the commercial radio industry is seeking legislative amendments to the local content and trigger event provisions of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, introduced as part of the 2006 media ownership changes.
I have met a number of times with industry representatives to discuss their concerns about these provisions.
The Government is actively considering the industry’s views on these matters, including its requested amendments.
 
The legislation requires that the local content and trigger event conditions applying to regional commercial radio be reviewed at least every three years.
 
My Department has recently undertaken this review, which invited submissions from both industry and the public.
 
A report of the review is currently being finalised.
 
Once it is completed, the report will be tabled in Parliament within 15 sitting days.
 
The findings of this report will inform the Government’s consideration of the requested legislative changes I know the industry eagerly awaits.
 
Our policies and actions, particularly in delivering the National Broadband Network and pursuing the switch to digital television, have accelerated the arrival of the convergent media age in Australia.
The NBN will boost productivity and transform the way we live and work … it will improve education and health service delivery and connect cities, regional and rural centres across Australia
 
As result of these advancements, Australia’s communications regulations are rapidly becoming outdated.
 
In response, I announced in July that the Government would carry out a comprehensive review of communications regulations.
 
The review will consider how the regulatory framework applies to communications services in a converged environment.
 
The review will also seek to identify appropriate licensing regulations, regulatory obligations and consumer protection arrangements across a range of media platforms, including radio.
 
We want to move towards an operating environment that is both cohesive and effective for the communications sector – and to do so in a consultative and considered way.
 
To that end, we will be releasing a draft terms of reference for the Convergent Communications Review for consultation.
 
We intend to release the terms of reference before the end of this year, and I look forward to hearing the views of the commercial radio industry on the appropriate framework for this important and timely review.
 
Thank you again for the opportunity to speak here today in what is a very exciting time for commercial radio in Australia.
 
The Government looks forward to working with the radio industry to embrace the changes affecting all media sectors, and to drive forward the initiatives to ensure that Australia receives the full benefits of digital media.
 
I trust this conference is a rewarding experience for everyone involved.