Digital radio here now

DIGITAL radio broadcasting is a reality in Australia, but motorists will have to attach expensive aftermarket digital-compatible radios for their cars if they want to enjoy the benefits of crackle-free listening in the foreseeable future.

After 20 years of planning, ABC Radio started free-to-air digital radio broadcasts in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth on July 1, following the delayed switch-on of Australia’s first digital radio network on June 15, when Sydney commercial stations 2CH, 2UE, 2DAY, Triple M, 2KY, WS-FM, Mix 106.5, 2SM, Nova, Vega Radar and Pink Radio began low-power digital test transmissions.

Along with SBS, the national broadcaster’s new digital stations ABC Country, ABC Jazz, ABC Digg Music and ABC Grandstand, which will air next month’s Ashes series and nationwide AFL and NRL matches, are now claimed to be available to 60 per cent of the population, with the remaining (mostly rural) areas to eventually follow.

Australia has leapfrogged countries such Germany, Italy and China in adopting the MPEG4-based digital audio broadcasting plus (DAB+) transmission standard, but the technology to receive it is at least two years away from being available in new vehicles here.

Both BMW and Mercedes-Benz are investigating the feasibility of fitting their Australian vehicles with DAB+ compatible radio units, which differ from the satellite radio systems long available in the US and the optional DAB systems in some cars in the UK, including Ford’s Kuga, Mondeo, S-Max and Galaxy since mid-2008.

Left: Plug-in digital radio.

While all digital radio signals offer CD-like sound quality, DAB+ is superior to and incompatible with MPEG2-based DAB because it allows radio stations to multi-channel and transmit a range of multimedia, data and interactive programming.

France pioneered the race to digital radio in Europe by mandating digital radios by 2012 – 2013 for radios in new cars – but its T-DMB system meets yet another different digital radio standard, in a similar way.

The UK government’s recent Digital Britain report recommended mandating digital-compatible radios in cars by 2013, before the analogue AM/FM signal is switched off nationally in 2015.

However, some British car companies fear that digital technology will not be compatible across the entire EU, while UK industry groups have criticised the accelerated switch-over timetable proposed by the Digital Britain report.

Digital radio broadcasting is not only contingent on all broadcasters investing in digital radio infrastructure and content, with the UK’s peak industry body, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), insisting digital radio coverage must be comparable to FM coverage before any digital-analogue signal switch takes place.

It has also described as “extremely challenging” the task of converting the majority of some 32 million vehicles without digital-capable radios via low-cost aftermarket devices, as recommended by the report.

Sent by traditional (analogue) radio towers, digital radio’s main advantages are higher-quality sound and the ability fit more signals into a given waveband.

But to listen in, in the absence of a wide variety of integrated DAB+ compatible audio head units for a range of vehicles, digital radio fans will have to piggy-back a digital radio receiver on to their existing car sound system like a GPS navigation unit, MP3 player or iPod, via a wireless Bluetooth or auxiliary input connection – in a similar way that a non-digital television requires a set-top box to receive a digital signal.

While TV receivers now cost as little as $39, in-car digital radio receivers are now on the market, priced from about $150, not including connectivity costs if required.

However, the new technology already faces competition from internet-based digital radio broadcasting, which is now common in Europe and could potentially be received via satellite-based vehicle telematics systems already in place here like GM’s Holden Assist, which is available across the Commodore and Statesman model lines.

“The big fear is that digital radio will be superseded by internet radio,” said one industry expert. “Cost is the key, and it is coming down rapidly. In next three to five years the cost of in-car internet connections will be so low that radio could be streamed over the net full-time.

As the spectre of a single household and/or car internet connection also providing digital TV and radio access nears, the question is: will terrestrial digital radio attract a big enough audience to gain a foothold on the market before traditional broadcasters, media companies and telecommunications giants can decide who will pay for internet radio? And which way will car-makers jump?