That could be tricky since the ABC seem unsure if they want DAB or DRM for the regions? Also for Mandurah DAB+ the ABC was not interested in extending its digital reach further south of Perth even though that as in the Mandurah LAP for them.
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Carplay/streaming is useless where there are significant coverage gaps in the mobile network. Even between Queanbeyan and Bungendore (on a major highway), you can’t stream radio due to a dead zone. Spotify is just OK-most of the time- because of its superior buffering capabilities, but forget about anything on Tunein.
I am fortunate enough to have access to Canberra DAB+ in this zone- so I use it.
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Yeah people in the city forget this. We still need terrestrial radio at least in the regional areas. The road between Queanbeyan and Bungendore is “not that regional”. I don’t think the telcos will install blanket coverage in a country like Australia, radio is still needed.
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Certainly not- the traffic movements rival somewhere in the outer suburbs of Sydney at times. Lots of B-double trucks, commuters, and also the ‘Conga Line’ every weekend to the coast. It is ludicrous that mobile coverage is still patchy along the Kings Highway, and even non-existent on parts of the Clyde Mountain.
A long way to go before blanket 4G coverage in the regions. A steady 4G signal is needed for reliable streaming.
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Agree. In my experience it’s not even that great in metro areas. DAB+ is a more consistant listening experience.
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I’d say the only serious competitor is probably podcasts. Streaming Live radio doesn’t work outside the main centres . There is also a lot of red tape to put up new towers for mobiles in Australia. I am not saying there shouldn’t be red tape but whilst we have then we need FM/AM radio.
I remember going to China in the early 00s and there was 2G reception everywhere even in some remote locations in Yunnan province. Different country more population and also if the govt want to build something they can. Most people in China don’t own a radio at home in my family circles anyway, less people own cars (only richer people in cities). Just from my own personal observations.
My last trip overseas (precovid) maybe circa 2017 (I can’t remember exactly) Malaysian people did listen to radio in the car. Android auto wasn’t even supported yet in that market. It was not so easy to buy a radio at a retailer in Malaysia. I did look, in fact I also did try to buy one in HK about 5 years ago and it was difficult. In Malaysia the mobile network isn’t so good so the good old radio is still on in people’s cars. Public transport isn’t great outside of KL and maybe JB so most people drive.
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The decision to adopt a platform shouldn’t be driven by the broadcasters solely - the decision should be made as much on technical grounds. It’s a significant decision as well, it’s not a simple process to change platforms in the future.
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DRM use in Australia pretty much has been decided upon on technical grounds. It was the preferred format for converting to digital radio way back by ACMA after many technical investigations, this was told to the government at the time & ACMA started reserving spectrum for future DRM use, frequencies vacated within spectrum available for DRM use MW band, through to eventually VHF Band 1 (after development of DRM+) were reserved for DRM use & couldn’t be reallocated.
As usual though, CRA funnelled a lot of money into DAB to develop DAB+ & successfully lobbied hard for that to be the Australian Digital radio standard (so they didn’t lose all that development money) & to be allocated spectrum (for free) to broadcast DAB+ on.
I have no idea why CRA went down that route, ACMA had already done technical investigations to digitise radio & so had the ABC & SBS & all except CRA wanted DRM use in Australia for digitising AM/FM radio.
ABC had to reluctantly follow the commercial stations & invest in DAB+, (though mostly only at the main sites, for many years CRA paid for the nationals transmission at the translator sites & later built translator sites never had any national DAB services, until both parties came to an agreement on who pays), now all those DAB transmission facilities are at end of life & need replacing.
CRA have already offloaded all their DAB+ transmission facilities, they have very little costs in DAB+ now, so they don’t care what happens to it really, & the ABC don’t want to fund new transmitters etc, for a platform that’s not growing very fast & may not (probably won’t) go any further than it currently has.
Now is the exact right time for the ABC to push again for DRM use & digitise their regional network, & probably bring along the regional commercial/community stations for a ride. If they get this, there’s the possibility they’ll just run their existing DAB+ transmitters until they literally die, then replace the metro network with DRM too, it’s already duplicated on the DTV network & online for at home & in the office listening anyway.
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Well, that may be true to an extent, but let’s see what happens after the election and if a change of government will commit to subside part of the roll-out of DAB+ into regional centres. There is also leadership change in CRA so this may help to spur the roll-out of DAB+ in the regions, and hopefully the ABC/SBS will agree to participate in a future DAB+ rollout.
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What makes you think a Labor government would subsidise DAB regionally, it’s not anything close to high priority to do, probably doesn’t even make the list of things to do, it’s only wanted/being pushed for by the enthusiasts.
The government gave CRA spectrum for free in the Metro areas for DAB, if they wanted to do that for regional or subsidise a rollout regionally, they would’ve done it years ago, DAB has been on air in Australia for over 10 years now, across multiple governments of both sides, if Labor get in, they won’t change things with the NBN & fund everyone getting FTTP, it’s highly unlikely they’d fund a regional DAB rollout.
Also why after 10+ years would CRA offload their Metro DAB infrastructure, to say hey, we’ve just got rid of the Metro DAB networks, lets spend multi-millions on a regional DAB network, that we can’t make the money back on?
The only thing CRA/DAB Joint Venture company owns now is the metro licences, they got rid of the entire metro DAB transmission network, to reduce/alleviate the money pit cost it is/was, they aren’t going to suddenly have another go at it regionally.
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who owns the transmission infrastructure now?
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The only way we’ll see any subsidies is if there is a hard decision on switching off analogue broadcasts and go digital only - given few (if any) countries around the world have actually achieved that, I cant see Australia being first
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It’s protectionism by spectrum scarcity. DRM can utilise a block of spectrum with nearly no alternate uses in a spectrum efficient and flexible manner. It’s the antithesis of commercial radio in Australia.
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If you think about it a bit, you’ve probably only got a couple of guesses & one of them will be right.
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BAI Communications ?
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50/50 chance but nope.
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Can he phone a friend?
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I guess we can only wait and see if Labor will allocate funds to it, and it also depends on how keen CRA are wanting a DAB+ rollout to the regions. If CRA are not that interested in rolling it out, then most likely the Fed govt won’t allocate funds to it.
So the only other option is for CRA and the commercial operators of regional licenses to fund it themselves, which is how the Gold Coast DAB+ roll out was managed. Therefore it will most likely come down to how keen ARN and SCA (and a few others) are in rolling it out to the larger regional markets.
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Maybe Gold Coast will be the only market that gets dab+ If the commercial networks have to fund it themselves. I just cannot see them wanting to do it.
In Newcastle is SCA and SRN going to enter into a joint venture to do this. SRN seem to have lost interest in dab+ they don’t even maintain their streams on their current digital stations and SCA is pushing Listnar.
Central Coast again SCA and Nova Ent, I cannot see this happening either.
Maybe Wollongong might go dab+ eventually with the ARN take over of Grant, and ARN showing some interest in dab+ from what’s happening on the Gold Cosst.
They can get 2ST on air in Wollongong and the other iHeart radio stations too.
Maybe with 2ST on dab+ From Brokers Nose / Saddleback Mountain they won’t worry about the Saddleback fm translator which still to this day has not had it’s licence issued by ACMA.
It is disappointing that dab+ has not taken off near Sydney from a dxing perspective.
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Don’t West Coast Radio own and operate the Mandurah DAB+? Currently it is only them, SEN, and Kix Country SW. Who is the main commercial player for the Gold Coast radio? And who else would jump on it (lots of unused space on the Mandurah one)?
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