Communications Minister Daryl Williams yesterday launched Sydney’s VHF band Digital Radio Trial, telling guests, “the Sydney trials, coordinated by Commercial Radio Australia, and similar trials in Melbourne, conducted by Broadcasting Australia from last month, will provide useful information on what digital radio offers for Australians”.
Williams explained in detail the benefits of digital radio and told guests the trials will provide information on “the challenges that the introduction of digital radio poses for industry, regulators and consumers.”
The Government intends to use the information provided by the two trials to “make decisions about the future of digital radio in Australia.”
While Williams was upbeat on the potential of digital radio he also said “no country has yet achieved a fully successful commercial service.”
The function, at The Sebel Pier One hotel in The Rocks, was hosted by 2GB’s Chris Smith and also addressed by Commercial Radio Australia chairman Rhys Holleran.
Holleran noted the high level of cooperation that had been achieved for the trial broadcasts, with all commercial radio networks in Sydney joining with the ABC, SBS, and community radio to take part in the trials.
Stations which will be heard in digital include WS-FM, Nova 969, 2GB, 2CH, 2UE, 2DAYFM, 2KY, 2SM, ABC Classic FM, ABC dig internet radio, SBS Radio, 2SER FM and 2MBS FM.
The broadcast partners in the trial have established a consortium called Digital Radio Broadcasting Australia Pty Ltd (DRBA) to own the digital transmission system for Sydney and take responsibility for multiplex management.
Strategic partners in the trial include receiver manufacturers Alpine Electronics, Pure Digital, Factum Electronics AB and Blaupunkt; advertising agency Universal McCann; retailer Harvey Norman, and infrastructure providers Telstra, RadioScape, BSA, Comsyst, RFS and TXA.
When the formalities were complete and the Minister had officially switched on the digital broadcasts, the doors of the function room were opened revealing a Mercedes Benz car fitted out with a digital radio sound system.
Newcastle General Manager George Liolio won a digital radio (pictured) in the business card draw.
Commercial Radio Australia CEO Joan Warner says: “The start of digital broadcasting is a very exciting milestone for radio in Australia and is the biggest innovation since the introduction of FM radio in the 1970s.”
“The new technology has the potential to make radio more compelling for listeners [and] … also adds a new dimension for advertisers because it significantly increases marketing options such as logos, visuals, replay buttons and electronic coupon downloads.”
All Alpine Car Radio dealer shops in Sydney will set up in-store digital radio displays and 100 listeners will be selected to participate in test panels as the trials progress.
Daryl Williams, in his speech at the launch, said:
Radio has been such a big slice of the communications scene in Australia for so many decades that it is difficult to imagine that anything could happen to alter the place it occupies in our lives.
Commercial radio has been a part of our lives for almost 80 years.
Australian radio began in Sydney in the early 1920s.
And the longest surviving commercial radio station in Australia, 2UE Sydney, commenced operation on Australia Day, 26 January 1925.
While the first application for an FM radio licence was received in 1956 – from a community group – formal services in the FM band by the ABC and community groups did not commence until the mid-1970s.
Commercial radio entered the FM band in 1980.
The introduction of full scale trials of digital radio in 2003 may mark the advent of the third generation of radio in Australia.
Digital technology has the potential to transform the Australian radio scene.
The government, industry and regulators now face a number of challenging questions.
Which of the available digital technologies would be most appropriate for Australia?
Of the many potential ‘extras’ digital technology can offer, which are the ones that might be embraced by the radio-listening public?
And what role will Australians want radio to play in their lives in 2005 or 2010?
We look forward to working with industry to start answering some of these questions and these trials provide an opportunity to gain some insights that might help us do that.
Analog radio has served Australia well for many decades.
By and large, radio does for the listener in 2003 what it did for the listener in the 1960s – only with better sound quality, thanks to FM, and smaller, more portable equipment.
Essentially, radio remains the communications technology we turn to when we need instant confirmation of breaking news, or updates during an emergency.
We listen to it while we do other things – most notably while we commute.
More than 20 per cent of our radio listening is done in cars.
And we listen to radio for an average of two hours a day.
There’s no doubt that radio plays a big part in our lives.
It seems that digital technology is reshaping the way we communicate.
It is revolutionising how we make films, how we watch television, how we conduct research and how we play games.
Digital radio technology promises a range of potential benefits for both listeners and broadcasters.
For the radio-listening public, the potential benefits include better audio fidelity and the possibility of ancillary services.
These might include images and text regarding song titles, news updates, sport results, stock exchange information and weather reports.
Benefits for the commercial radio industry include greater advertising and sponsorship opportunities through text and images and the potential for subscription services.
It may also provide the national public broadcasters with new ways to deliver services in the public interest.
Digital radio services are in their infancy around the world and a number of different systems and business models are being put to the test.
No country has yet achieved a fully successful commercial service.
One of the big issues from Australia’s point of view is which of the available technologies would best suit our particular circumstances.
As most of the audience here today would know, the United States favours IBOC [In-Band On-Channel] technology for free-to-air terrestrial digital radio.
This system delivers a digital signal alongside an analog signal, allowing incumbent broadcasters to use their existing channels to deliver both analog and digital services.
The US is also moving ahead with subscription services.
Two companies each deliver about 100 subscription channels via dedicated satellite networks.
In the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and parts of Asia, the Eureka 147 technology has the edge.
Advocates believe its higher data-carrying potential greatly increases its capacity to deliver the kind of innovative services that will differentiate digital radio from analog.
A hybrid model using Eureka technology and the still largely untested DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) technology has also been suggested.
In considering the introduction of any new technology the Government must ensure that the implementation is going to be in the public interest.
We want to know that the technology will promote high quality, sustainable and diverse services particularly in regional areas.
Spectrum is a valuable public resource that can be loaned but cannot be given away and must be managed by the Government responsibly and in the public interest.
Any implementation of digital radio rests on this foundation.
While we are still exploring with industry the issue of the preferred digital technology for Australia, it is obvious that whatever technology we end up choosing will affect whatever implementation strategy we put in place.
For example, the adoption of IBOC would not require the allocation of new spectrum, while the adoption of a Eureka-style system would.
In addition, the type of spectrum used to deliver the digital service – for example L Band, VHF Band III, or a combination of the two – will affect implementation.
These are matters that need careful consideration.
That is why trials such as the one being launched today are so important and why the ongoing process of consultation and debate is central to getting the policy settings right for Australia.
As part of that process of information gathering and consultation the Government established a Digital Radio Study Group with representatives from the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) and the Australian Communications Authority (ACA).
The study group has examined the status of the various technologies being employed around the world, so that we can learn from the experience of others.
The Government expects a report from the study group shortly.
The information the study group has put together should enable us to start setting some principles and narrowing the issues for further consultation with industry and with the broader community on just what our digital radio policy settings should look like.
This process of consultation will be further informed by the domestic trials of digital radio, giving us a much better idea of what might work in the Australian context.
The Commercial Radio Australia trials here in Sydney and the Broadcast Australia trials in Melbourne both involve the Eureka 147 digital radio technology.
The Government, through the Australian Broadcasting Authority, has made spectrum available in the VHF Band for these trials.
While these trials do not lock us into any particular framework for the future of digital radio in Australia, they will make a valuable contribution to our knowledge about what digital radio could look like for Australia.
I wish Commercial Radio Australia and its content partners all the best with this first step into the digital future for the Australian commercial radio industry.
The Government will follow the progress of the trial with great interest and I look forward to continuing to work with you on this important issue.