AUSSILLON, France — 100% Radio, a vibrant French network renowned for its contemporary hits and regional content, operates 16 distinct program feeds across 50 FM frequencies and DAB+ in several major cities. As the station grew, it faced mounting challenges related to scalability, reliability and operational efficiency. To maintain its competitive edge and deliver consistent, high-quality audio, 100% Radio needed to modernize its broadcasting infrastructure without increasing complexity.
To harmonize audio transport across sites, the station adopted a virtualized MPX over IP transport, in partnership with WorldCast Systems, from the studio to the transmitter sites. This enhancement improves performance, streamlines operations and ensures resilience for the future.
Expanding the number of programs and frequencies made it increasingly challenging to manage audio processing and distribution with traditional, hardware-heavy methods. Each program typically required dedicated audio processors at multiple locations, multiplying equipment, maintenance and failure points.
This setup presented significant hurdles, including higher costs, limited flexibility and an increasing risk of service disruption. Most importantly, it became increasingly difficult to ensure consistent audio quality across all transmission sites. 100% Radio needed a more agile and centralized approach — one that could scale effortlessly while simplifying operations.
An intelligent, virtual solution
To meet these needs, 100% Radio adopted a software-defined architecture powered by WorldCast Systems’ virtualized APT IP Codecs and APTmpX technology.
Audio processing for each program is handled in the studio using Omnia.9s software processors, whose MPX outputs are routed directly to the Virtual APT IP Codec running in containers. This eliminates the need for physical codecs at the studio and allows fast deployment of new program streams to feed their FM network.
The Virtual APT IP Codecs perform MPX compression and transport using APTmpX, a low-bitrate, high-fidelity algorithm available in three formats: 300 kbps, 400 kbps or 600 kbps. This approach ensures sound integrity while significantly reducing bandwidth usage and avoiding reprocessing at each site.
At transmitter sites, 100% Radio uses several types of transmitters. When using older or non-WorldCast FM transmitters, the MPX over IP stream is decoded by an APT Silver Decoder (MPX version) with a BNC output, which feeds the existing transmitter via analog MPX. This architecture is both cost-effective and backward compatible.
Centralized supervision through Kybio
When using the new Ecreso FM AiO Series, the APT IP decoder is already built in as software. In other words, the APT stream is directly decoded and modulated to FM by the direct-to-channel digital modulator. In this case, the transport is fully virtualized and remains digital all the way to the RF stage, thus increasing both reliability and quality.
100% Radio has already transitioned many sites to the new AiO Series and plans to continue gradually. Some IP links exhibited packet loss, which was effectively mitigated by enabling APT SureStream’s built-in redundancy. Even with a single IP path, reliability improved significantly, with packet loss reduced to almost none. Another key advantage lies in the inherent resilience of the APTmpX algorithm. Thanks to its nonframed design, any packet loss has little to no perceptible impact on the audio, unlike many other solutions.
The entire system is supervised through Kybio, WorldCast’s vendor-agnostic network monitoring platform. With centralized supervision, the technical team gains full visibility and control over the infrastructure, allowing proactive issue detection and streamlined operations.
Scalable and resilient broadcasting
The shift to a virtualized broadcast chain delivered powerful benefits across technical, operational and financial dimensions. Operations became more flexible and scalable, enabling the easy addition of new programs. By reducing the hardware footprint, the station also reduced energy usage, rack space requirements and maintenance costs.
According to 100% Radio, an important factor in the decision to adopt APTmpX and the Virtual APT IP Codec was their exceptionally low CPU usage, which is up to three to four times lower than that of competing solutions. This efficiency translates into significant infrastructure savings, as it reduces the need for high-performance servers and allows more channels to be processed on the same hardware.
100% Radio’s transformation is a compelling example of how virtualization and intelligent IP transport can revolutionize FM broadcasting. By working with WorldCast Systems, the station simplified its infrastructure, boosted reliability, and future-proofed its operations — without sacrificing audio quality or flexibility.
This forward-thinking approach positions 100% Radio as a leader in modern radio delivery and a model for broadcasters seeking to evolve in a competitive and rapidly changing media landscape.
The author is the director of product marketing for WorldCast Systems.
This story originally appeared in the September/October 2025 edition of RedTech Magazine.
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