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A Discussion Paper on
Digital Radio Broadcasting in Australia

Appendix 3 - Overseas developments

United Kingdom
Digital radio services are being introduced into the UK using Eureka 147. The Government has allocated 12.5 MHz of radio spectrum (217.5 - 230 MHz) in VHF Band III for DRB, which can accommodate seven DRB ensembles.

Legislation is in place. Broadcasters and multiplex managers will be licensed separately.

BBC National Radio has been allocated one ensemble, and another one has been earmarked for Independent National Radio. These two ensembles will eventually cover the UK. The remaining five ensembles are intended to carry BBC and Independent Local and Regional Radio. They will be arranged so that each area, in addition to the national services, will receive one ensemble carrying up to six local/regional stations. In the main metropolitan areas, two local ensembles should be available, providing up to twelve local/regional services.

The BBC launched its national DRB ensemble in London in September 1995 and is extending its coverage to serve a large area of south-east England (about 20% of the UK population). Permanent commercial radio services are expected to commence in late 1996. By mid-1998, it is expected that there will be 27 transmitters reaching about 60% of the UK population, including the main motorway and trunk road network.

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Canada
Canada has been the leading country in the development of Eureka 147 DRB in the L-band, and is migrating all existing AM and FM broadcasters to digital technology using a combination of terrestrial and satellite coverage.

A DRB frequency allotment plan was published in June 1996. It involves a DRB allocation - capable of providing one CD quality stereo program plus allowance for ancillary data - for every AM and FM station (including current unused allotments), as well as every low power AM and FM station. Up to five stations with similar coverage areas are grouped together to share the same transmitter. Allowance is made in the plan for a possible implementation of a future satellite component (a mixed satellite/terrestrial DRB network).

Transitional licences for DRB are being issued for a period of three years, while a permanent licensing system is developed. Existing broadcasters intending mainly to simulcast current signals will be granted automatic access to spectrum, while applications for new services will be considered on a case by case basis. There are experimental stations in operation.

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United States
The US has yet to decide on the introduction of digital radio broadcasting.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has endorsed the in-band approach but the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has yet to set a DRB standard.

Laboratory tests have been conducted for a digital radio standard in the US. Seven systems were tested, including Eureka 147, four IBOC systems, one IBAC system and one satellite system. The Eureka system appears to have performed well. In contrast, it seems that the US developed in-band systems have not performed as well.

Field trials are to be conducted in San Francisco and a report is expected to be made to the FCC later in 1996.

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Other Countries

France

DRB experiments have been conducted since 1994 by a consortium known as Club DAB France in Rennes and Paris. Initial trials with Eureka 147 used both VHF Band I and the L-band. However, problems with VHF reception led to the decision in 1995 to use the L-band for all DRB services. Radio France has established a Working Party on radio programming issues to study which specific programs would be particularly suited for DRB broadcasts. Radio France intends to establish DRB coverage of all major metropolitan areas (25% of the population) and motorways, as soon as consumer receivers become available.

Germany

Pilot projects using Eureka 147 are being undertaken in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony and Berlin, using both VHF Channel 12 and L-band. These tests are being carried out through a partnership of the Government, Deutsche Rundfunk and Deutsche Telekom. The project in Baden-Württemberg began in 1994 and by 1997 will include six single frequency network multiplexes each broadcasting at least six stereo channels with associated data and a separate 64 kbps data channel. In North Rhine-Westphalia one single frequency network multiplex has been set up to cover the entire region, with three networks covering the sub-regions. In total, more than 10 000 receivers will be available for testing technical and programming features of DRB.

The on-going commitment to DRB as the radio of the future in Germany was confirmed when the authorities announced there would be a special supplement added to the licence fee from 1997. This supplement will produce 176 million Deutschmarks (US$125 million) over four years to aid the public service broadcasters to build up the DRB infrastructure.

The Netherlands

Four single frequency network transmitters have been established covering 50% of the population, including the major Dutch cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague and Utrecht. Seven companies are involved in experiments with ancillary DRB services which include datacasting, DRB newspaper transmission, company information, railway and travel information. An allotment planning conference was held in July 1995 to allocate spectrum for digital transmission, which should pave the way for the introduction of operational DRB. The limited allocation, however, does not meet the program needs expressed by broadcasters, and lower bit rates are being considered as a way of providing extra channels.

Sweden

As a result of collaboration between Swedish Radio and Teracom, the first DRB experiments started in March 1992, covering the Stockholm area, and another DRB experiment started in March 1994 in Uppsala/Enköping. The Swedish Broadcasting Corporation has been allocated a national ensemble which began operation with one Stockholm transmitter in September 1995. The transmission network will be extended to 15 transmitters covering 35% of the population by mid-1996. Initially, transmissions will be limited to simulcast of FM programs, after which new services will be added. In addition to the Swedish programs, there will be a program in Finnish and a channel for Lapps. Regional ensembles will be shared between the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation and commercial radio stations, with transmission scheduled to start in 1996.

Other countries in which DRB trialing is taking place include Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Poland, India and China.

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• Document ID: 9385 |
• Last modified: 6 February 2008, 2:25pm