Italy celebrates FM's 90th birthday • RedTech

This time of year, radio celebrates an auspicious birth. Analog FM was patented by American electrical engineer and inventor Edwin H. Armstrong on Dec. 26, 1933. So, in a way, FM radio transmissions have a precise “date of birth.”

This Dec. 26, therefore, FM transmission technology will turn 90, but despite such “seniority,” it still represents the prevailing strategic asset of the radio market.

In its study “FM radio market size and forecast,” Verified Market Research, a leading global research and consultancy company, estimated that FM radio in 2019 was valued globally at 267.71 billion dollars and that this value will grow to 458.09 billion dollars in 2027.

On the eve of FM radio’s 90th birthday, Marco Rossignoli, coordinator of Aeranti-Corallo (a federation representing approximately 450 Italian local FM radio stations), is celebrating FM’s continued strength. “Radio listening in Italy, and in many other countries, is still mainly based on this broadcasting technology,” said Rossignoli. “Therefore, we believe that digital transmissions (DAB+ and IP), although representing a very important element of technological development in continuous evolution and which cannot be ignored, should take place without any purpose as a substitute for FM transmissions.”

“In this way, in fact,” concluded Rossignoli, “new digital technologies will be able to support FM broadcasts, further encouraging radio listening with new proposals.”