Digital Radio for Ireland: Competing Options, Public Expectations - BCI

view…someone
buys
a
digital
radio,
they
turn
it
on
and
expect
every
station
that
is
there
on
analogue
plus
some
more…if
it’s
‘I
can
get
70%
of
the
analogue
stations
but
I
can’t
get
x,
y
or
z’,
then
that
isn’t
a
very
good
system’.


For
him
the
answer
is
in
the
level
of
innovation
used
in
the
building
of
networks
and
equally
that
DAB+
allows
for
greater
spectrum
efficiency;
therefore
fewer
transmitters
needed
to
service
more
people.
Quentin
Howard
put
it:
‘There
has
to
be
a
mechanism
for
it
to
be
inclusive.
You
may
need
when
you
build
networks
to
have
some
kind
of
transitional
funding
structure
so
that
people
who
have
not
got
the
 money
 to
 begin,
 but
 you
 need
 them
 there
 for
 the
 good
 of
 the
 platform,
 will
 effectively
 get
 a
subsidized
ride
for
a
few
years’
While
Quentin
Howard
made
the
case
for
equal
access
to
digital,
not
everyone
in
the
interview
group
saw
this
as
essential
or
possible
within
the
limits
of
a
DAB
network.

Dusty
Rhodes
of
Digital
Audio
Productions
 argued
 in
 favour
 of
 digital
 terrestrial
 multiplexes
 being
 used
 solely
 for
 national
 radio.
‘There’s
 no
 need
 for
 local
 radio
 to
 transfer
 onto
 digital
 broadcasting’,
 he
 said,
 maintaining
 that
 the
freed
up
FM
spectrum
could
be
used
for
the
expansion
of
local
and
community
radio.
He
saw
FM
and
DAB
 existing
 in
 the
 same
 way
 AM
 and
 FM
 did
 until
 recently
 with
 people
 moving
 back
 and
 forth
between
the
two.
JP
 Coakley
 of
 RTÉ
 argued
 that
 it
 made
 more
 sense
 to
 plan
 for
 DAB
 implementation
 nationally
 and
regionally
in
the
first
instance
on
the
basis
that
there
is
sufficient
room
in
these
allocations
to
include
every
existing
broadcaster
in
the
country
and
still
have
spare
capacity
for
new
services.
There
might
be
a
need
for
local
multiplexes
in
large
cities
but
otherwise
‘local
multiplexes
do
not
make
sense’.
Michael
Mullane,
Head
of
Radio
News,
Sport
and
New
Media,
EBU
agrees
that
DAB
will
not
be
the
answer
 for
 local
 and
 community
 radio.
 He
 sees
 a
 combination
 of
 DRM
 and
 DAB,
 a
 multiplatform
solution
but
admits
there
are
no
working
models
yet
which
show
this
in
action.
Quentin
Howard
is
not
so
optimistic
about
the
marriage
between
DRM
and
DAB.
The
problem
he
sees
is
that
receivers
will
not
carry
both
platforms
so
consumers
will
not
have
the
ability
or
choice
to
switch
from
one
to
another.
‘Until
a
major
regulator
says
DRM
is
the
choice
for
us
and
we
are
going
to
put
it
into
our
country,
and
they
have
special
clout
to
create
a
sizable
market
which
the
manufacturers
will
respond
to,
I
don’t
think
DRM
will
ever
happen’,
he
said.
Howard’s
solution
for
community
radio
with
small
niche
audiences
is
the
internet.
A
DAB+
radio
with
a
Wi‐Fi
connection
is,
he
believes,
a
more
realistic
model
given
that
manufacturers
will
see
the
appeal
of
combining
 a
 digital
 terrestrial
 offering
 with
 internet
 access.
 Wi‐Fi
 access
 will
 also,
 he
 maintains,
enhance
radio’s
ability
to
measure
its
audiences.
‘So
my
approach
would
be
to
get
a
manufacturer
like
PURE
who
has
an
internet
radio
and
DAB
and
put
the
measurement
system
in
–
which
would
give
us
real
time
figures’.
For
Kevin
Griffiths
the
issue
remains
one
of
rights
rather
than
the
market.
Any
proposed
policy
needs
to
 protect
 those
 rights
 as
 well
 as
 ensure
 a
 viable
 market.
 ‘I
 think
 they
 should
 protect
 the
 right
 of
everyone
 to
 be
 able
 to
 broadcast.
 And
 that
 means
 that
 if
 radio
 moves
 to
 a
 new
 technology
 that
 is
expensive
that
the
rights
of
community
to
broadcast
are
not
interfered
with
and
not
disadvantaged
in
any
way
from
being
able
to
deliver
very
important
services’.
50