ACMA has released this following consultation paper today:
Expansion of digital radio to regional Australia - Proposed principles for licence area deeming
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And if the ACMA website hurts your head reading it, Radioinfo has distilled it into simpler form:
https://www.radioinfo.com.au/news/proposed-deeming-principles-regional-radio-licence-areas
This has already been done in Hobart to good success.
What really needs to be communicated is that DAB+ is costly and legislatively cumbersome. There are much better digital broadcasting options.
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DRM/+ is an example.
Itās also curious that as a Commonwealth country, Australia has turned its back on Indiaās implementation of DRM.
Our best DRM hope to begin broadcasting was the new shortwave TX at Tennant Creek which was DRM+ enabled, yet the idiots at the ABC decided to not save money within their numbers of non content contributing management in Ultimo and Southbank but cut transmission costs (and now news bulletins).
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Just thumb twiddling.
Thereās no point considering license merging areas for community only. The real problem is the adjacent and overlapping commercial areas. If they wonāt do work there, thereās no point working on this.
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If Hobart was hard enough, ACMA and the incumbents are going to have fun sorting out Bendigo and Maryborough 
Bewilders me that the commercial broadcasters (well, CRA) are more concerned about cutting out competition through the DAB+ rollout. It seems to me that - more likely than not - converting existing sites to DRM/+ would better maintain a status quo that is favourable to them.
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āIf you read the history books, youāll see the same things happen again and againā¦ā
Exactly why commercial FM was delayed in this country.
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None are available, they were all burnt because they upset a gathering of tumbleweeds.
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No changes on the AM band in Melbourne this morning. SEN Track still on 1377 and Rete Italia still on 1593 this morning. Thereās some interesting changes on the DAB+ front though.
Two new stations on the 9A multiplex: easy music 3MP (64kbps) and NICHE RADIO (40kbps). 3MP is yet to have audio, while Niche is running the same programming feed as 1593 AM. As a result, SEN Trackās bitrate has been cut from 56kbps to 40kbps, SEN2 and SEN3 from 56kbps to 32kbps. But where did Nicheās 40kbps come from? 
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Error protection changes, so many of the added stations moved to EEP-4A to squeeze more in.
The standard ā128kbpsā per station is 96 Capacity Units at the default EEP-3A.
The weird thing is none of it cleanly fits into 96 - so itās not like Rhythmos, Niche and 3MP all fit into a clean 3MP side and all the SENs are on the other. Iād wonder if this is temporary for a transition period - or SEN have done a deal to lease back some of the spectrum from ACE, and in turn, carrying Niche on digital was part of the deal to get SEN Trackās new frequency in the first place?
Still no idea why SEN2/3 exist, just have one SEN+ overflow station if they need it - or rebrand them to the SEN SA/WA or whatever those feeds actually are.
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No changes yet here in Sydney on AM or Digital Radio with 2CH still playing Classic Hits on 1170AM and in stereo on DAB at 128kbps while Rete Italia is still on 1539AM.
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SEN Track moves to 1593AM in Melbourne on Friday, July 3.
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The bit that most interested me in that articleā¦
Itās probably safe to presume that Rete Italia will use a slice of the 128kbps currently used by 2CH, but what about the rest? Surely SEN will want to have SEN Track and at least some form of a main SEN station on Sydney DAB+?
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Assuming 3-A error protection is used, my prediction would be:
Niche Radio - 40kbps
SEN 1170 - 48kbps
SEN Track - 40kbps
This would put Niche and SEN Track in line with their Melbourne allocations, with the remaining 48kbps set aside for the main SEN station.
From memory, SEN3 is targeted towards NSW listeners (though streaming, naturally) - outside of simulcasting 1116 it airs Sportsday NSW and Super Rugby coverage pre-COVID. NSW regulation of gambling advertising around sports coverage is more strict than Victoria, so I believe some programs are interrupted on that stream for this purpose.
SEN2 seemed to simulcast 1377 for the most part, although it would be better utilised as a simulcast of SEN SA Iād suggest.
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Why not just call it Rete Italia rather than āNiche Radioā? Would be far easier for listeners.
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Iāve posted far too much in this thread today, however I think this post from @sm1611 last month might explain this:
I had assumed Niche Radio was dead and buried, but evidently it is not the case. According to Rete Italia, Niche is also broadcasting on 1620 AM in Melbourne but I donāt have a radio to hand thatāll go past 1611 AM so I canāt confirm.
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Oh, so Rete Italia is just a time share on the wider frequency?
Makes more sense that way.
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Its confirmed. 3mp is back for good. Friday Night at 6pm according to a on air message on DAB+
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On AM 1377 or just dab?
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IDK about 1377am since my DAB radio does not do AM
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Rete Italia (rather than Niche Radio Network program) was broadcasting in Melbourne on 1620kHz for a short while until earlier in the year. (2019/2020)
I havenāt heard them on this channel for many weeks.
Just discovered something else interesting about Rete Italia. They also have a new 100W HPON on 89.3 FM from Wollongong, NSW that they are leasing according to this page.
https://ilglobo.com/about-rete-italia-radio-network/tune-rete-italia/
Has anybody heard them on this frequency in Wollongong area?
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