The Guardian's 24 reasons why UK digital radio might not work out

April 12, 2010

Interesting article from The Guardian on the problems with DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast), the digital radio system used in the UK. This comes out as the UK has just passed the Digital Economy Act, which among other things will facilitate a transition to digital radio.

DAB is different from the system used in the US in that DAB uses an entirely different section of the spectrum for digital radio, while in the US digital signals are on the same channel as their analog counterparts (In Band, On Channel, or IBOC). There are pros and cons to both systems. Although IBOC is easier to implement without a total switchover (e.g. what happened with digital television in the US, in which everyone had to switch to new receivers at the same time), it also means that only incumbent broadcasters are able to take advantage of the new technology, because only those with analog licenses get access (at least in the way the FCC has implemented the system so far).

Anyway, the Guardian piece is reminiscent of our own Top Ten Problems with Digital Radio; check it out!