DIGITAL RADIO

While there are a complex set of mandates relating to the roll-out of digital television, no similar mandates are currently in place motivating the shift from analogue to digital radio. Technical standards are not in place, and there are virtually no receivers on the market at this point that make it viable as a community service.

Some observers believe that there is a lot of potential in digital technology to solve some of the old problems of scarce bandwidth. From a technical perspective, they are right- the possibilities of a digitized radio system are amazing and could be used to remake the entire face of broadcasting. Unfortunately, the only serious proposal to digitize radio was designed by the very media giants who currently dominate the industry. It was designed not to liberate the FM dial, but to preserve the current business model of radio. The unfortunate reality of the digital radio issue is that unless activists fight very hard, we can plan on a digital future that looks almost identical to the oligopolistic past and present of radio. We advise that you not hold your breath to get one of the new channels that this technology could create.

[Prometheus has written an article on this subject which is available at http://prometheusradio.org/news_archive/national/the_next_fcc_giveaway_digital_radio_-_october_2000.html]