A recent RedTech article here made the obvious point — at least to European broadcasters — that medium wave is slowly disappearing from radio. Examples provided included the recent decision by BBC Radio 4 to abandon AM. BBC, we are told, aims to switch off all medium wave transmissions still used for national and regional stations by 2027. This seems part of a general narrative that AM is staring at its demise in Europe, setting the example for many countries worldwide.
But is this the complete medium wave picture in Europe?
Firstly, in the United Kingdom, the BBC and commercial broadcasters have gone the FM, digital DAB or streaming routes. However, about five million listeners a week tune in to BBC’s national news and sports station Radio 5 Live (R5L), which is still broadcast on medium wave (as well as via DAB and digital TV). Until recently, the BBC needed approximately 443 DAB transmitters to provide 97% of U.K. households with R5L, while the station’s analog AM service used 24 transmitting sites, including eight high-power sites. The BBC argues that these transmitters are power-hungry; hence, they must go.
Analog medium wave transmitters indeed attract higher electricity bills than analog or digital FM alternatives. But digitizing medium wave with DRM can produce remarkable savings. An analog transmitter broadcasts a single channel or program. In contrast, a DRM transmitter can deliver up to three audio channels and one data channel for the same coverage with an average electricity reduction of up to 66%.
Even so, analog medium wave transmissions are still on the air across Europe, including in Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, the Republic of Moldova and Cyprus.
AM in the rest of the world?
This is where the picture changes markedly and does not match the European model. While the decline in AM listening in Australia and Argentina is undeniable, the story differs in North America, Brazil, India, Russia and many Asian, African and Caribbean countries. Here, medium wave still has a voice.
Apart from the analog medium wave persistence in large countries like Canada or smaller and less affluent countries like Cuba, others have taken the digital bull by the horns.
The Indian public broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) is rolling out DRM in the AM bands for regular domestic broadcasts. Currently, 37 high-power DRM medium waves are installed throughout the country. Four transmitters (one each in four metro cities) now carry pure DRM transmissions around the clock. The remaining 33 transmitters work in simulcast mode for one hour in pure DRM.
They are doing what the Europeans were not: Offering distinctive content such as news and cricket commentary, not just duplicating the FM output. Over 900 million people in India can receive DRM broadcasts, and over six million new cars fitted with DRM receivers are on the roads.
India’s neighbor, Pakistan, is looking at digitizing DRM medium wave either by acquiring new transmitters or upgrading existing analog ones to achieve the coverage that none of the digital standards devised to offer local coverage can achieve.
And then there’s China
The most recent and exciting development comes from China, though. The Yunnan Province recently conducted DRM MW simulcast trials, and several cities have already started DRM medium wave broadcasts. Plus, the largest DRM tuner manufacturers are now firmly established in China.
Before writing off medium wave, we should consider the digital DRM format’s accurate coverage, cost aspects, and enhanced possibilities. Combining FM quality at AM coverage levels, DRM can cover hard-to-reach populations with diverse and enhanced content, such as multilingual simulcasts of radio programs, the provision of education to unconnected students, and emergency broadcasts. DRM also benefits the broadcaster since the costs of upgrading existing infrastructure are relatively low, and the technology’s use of bandwidth and power consumption is highly efficient.
This makes DRM the optimum digital radio solution for emerging nations, especially given that almost half of the world’s population does not have access to the internet, and this lack of connectivity is most significant within least developed countries. DRM in the medium wave and the shortwave bands delivers FM-like quality to listeners spread over thousands of square kilometers from a single transmitter. This makes DRM the optimum digital radio solution for emerging nations and challenges the European claim that medium wave has seen its day.
The author is chair for the Digital Radio Modiale Consortium.
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