Posted on 12/14/2017 9:27:02 AM PST by Red Badger
Norway on Wednesday completed its transition to digital radio, becoming the first country in the world to shut down national broadcasts of its FM radio network despite some grumblings.
As scheduled, the country's most northern regions and the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic switched to Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) in the late morning, said Digitalradio Norge (DRN) which groups Norway's public and commercial radio.
The transition, which began on January 11th, allows for better sound quality, a greater number of channels and more functions, all at a cost eight times lower than FM radio, according to authorities.
The move has however been met with some criticism linked to technical incidents and claims that there is not sufficient DAB coverage across the country.
In addition, radio users have complained about the cost of having to buy new receivers or adapters, usually priced around 100 to 200 euros.
Currently, fewer than half of motorists (49 percent) are able to listen to DAB in their cars, according to DRN figures.
According to a study cited by local media, the share of Norwegians who listen to the radio on a daily basis has dropped by 10 percent in one year, and public broadcaster NRK has lost 21 percent of its audience.
"It's a big change and we have to give listeners time to adapt to digital radio," the head of DRN, Ole Jørgen Torvmark, said in a statement.
"After each shutdown (in a region), we noticed that the audience first dropped but then rose again," he added.
The transition concerns only national radio channels. Most local stations continue to broadcast in FM.
Other countries like Switzerland, Britain and Denmark are due to follow suit in the coming years.
Digital signals also have a much shorter range. When the signal gets too weak or there is a lot interference then it won’t work at all.
I’m on a Norway, radio!
This is only for their government radio stations, not commercial ones......................Like our NPR..............
I’m trying to think this out in USA terms.
It’d be like NPR leaving the FM band and going to a digital format that no one has. Meanwhile normal FM stations continue as usual.
Now that is a good idea. I could get behind an idea like this.
Bound to happen at some point.
The thing is. with analog AM and FM, or old NTSB analog video for that matter, the transmitting and receiving equipment is relatively simple, and easy to make and use.
Digital equipment is complicated, requires specialized components and software, is not easily replicated, is not electrically robust, and puts users at the mercy of equipment manufacturers.
This is one of the reasons that I don’t like the idea of digital FM ham radio bands. It works out great for the manufacturers and the FCC. Not so much for the DIY radio builders who may not have access to that technology.
That, and digital comms are much easier for government entities to monitor and mine data from.
Wish I was in Lillehammer, eating barbequed iguaner.
or Reinsdyrsteik, but it doesn’t rhyme so well.
I believe that local FM is still alive there. It’s only the national broadcast stuff. And, if their gubmit radio is anything like NPR, who’d waste money on getting digital to listen to some undereducated idiots spout the gubmit line?
Hmmm, FM - “No static at all....”
If the range is shorter it is likely because the broadcaster is using less power and relying on error correction to make the signal usable at the edge of his broadcast area and no farther.
Voluntarily cutting yourself off from 90% of your potential audience? Sounds like a helluva business plan.
Note that only public radio has switched over. They have no clue about business and profitability, they exist off of government subsidy. Losing 90% of their propaganda audience is a good thing.
The girls don’t seem to care tonight.......
Have you ever seen a digital signal skipped 350 miles at night. With AM it can be even more. But I received an FM radio station from about 350 miles away(as the crow flies) one night. And it was listenable. I couldn’t even believe it myself.
Maybe not a big deal for music. But I can think of some situations where it might matter in the news department.
Yeah...Am is just like shortwave at a lower frequency.
As long as the mood is right.
It’s so the Russian bombers can’t hone in on the radio signals.
No static at all.
Gotta put on some Steely Dan to some reason...
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