The Digital Radio Study Group’s first draft report has outlined the progress of digital radio systems in other countries as a guide for Australia’s next steps. The report said:
Digital radio broadcasting has only been employed on a commercial scale since the
mid 1990s. It is therefore at an early stage of development and no country has yet
achieved significant commercial breakthrough of digital radio.
* The UK, Germany and Canada, however, are reasonably advanced, through
terrestrial application of the Eureka system for digital radio. A number of other
European countries have also commenced Eureka services.
– In the UK, digital services commenced in 1995 with the simulcast of a number
of BBC services, while commercial services commenced in 1999 through the
nation-wide commercial multiplex operator, Digital One. The UK currently
employs VHF Band spectrum for Eureka but has plans to make L-Band
spectrum available in the future.
– Regular digital radio operations began in Germany in 1999, with Sachsen
Anhalt being the first State to launch services. Around half of Germany’s
digital radio services are provided by the commercial sector. Germany has
commenced services in both the L-Band and VHF Band.
– In Canada, digital radio services have been operating in the L-Band since early
1999 in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, and since early 2000 in Ontario.
Most digital radio services in Canada are simulcasts of existing analog
services.
– Other countries to have implemented the Eureka system include France,
Sweden, Portugal, Italy, Spain, and Belgium.
* In the US, both terrestrial and satellite digital radio solutions are being pursued.
Terrestrial services through the proprietary iBiquity IBOC system, and satellite
services through two Satellite Digital Audio Radio Service (SDARS) licensees.
– Late in 2002, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved
the use of the IBOC system for trials of terrestrial digital radio in the AM and
FM radio bands3. While a number of broadcasters have commenced trials,
there are no consumer receivers currently available.
– The SDARS subscription services have commenced in the US through XM
Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio (in the S-Band4), with increased
subscription numbers over the last 12 months. Recent analysis by the Carmel
Group suggests that subscription satellite radio in the US will reach a critical
mass of around 1.5 million subscribers in 2003.
* WorldSpace Corporation’s AfriStar and AsiaStar satellites are providing a mix of
free-to-air and subscription services across Africa, parts of Europe and Asia.
* In Japan, digital radio via the ISDB-TSB system will be trialed from late 2003.
* DRM is currently being trialed in a number of countries, but has not yet been
commercially deployed. The WorldDAB Forum, the European based organisation
charged with promoting Eureka take up around the world, and the DRM
Consortium have recently agreed to ‘collaborate on the development of their
systems’ and to ‘foster conditions that are favourable for both digital systems’.
This table from the report shows a comparison between the various systems in use around the world:
