Here's an interesting article about digital radio using the radio
spectrum, not the telephone system as real audio works.  This, in effect,
would be the equivalent of digital television.  Let's see how the FCC
handles the needs of the general public as opposed to the big monied
interests in the broadcast industry.  They, the FCC, have already blown it
with digital television, giving away valuable radio spectrum for digital
television signals with little in return in the form of better access for
the public or requirements for fairness in broadcasting, or reduced, or no
cost advertising for political candidates.  Here's the article.

Steve


From:   "Anderson, Rachel" <[log in to unmask]>
To:     <[log in to unmask]>
Date:   5/4/00 6:08PM
Subject:        Digital Beat Extra -- Broadcasting 5/4/2000



Digital Beat Extra -- Broadcasting 5/4/2000


Tuning in Digital Audio Broadcasting

Everywhere we turn there is evidence of the digital revolution that has
taken hold of this country. Soon everything from cars to refrigerators will
be connected to the Internet. Television stations have already begun to
convert to digital technology. And now even radio, the first electronic mass
medium, has been swept up in the digital tide.

By converting audio signals into digital code before transmission, digital
radio, or Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) as it is known, virtually
eliminates static on the FM band and gives listeners nearly CD-quality
sound. Any interference, however, results in a complete loss of signal. DAB
will also require listeners to invest in totally new radio receivers because
old analog radios will not be able to pick up a digital signals.

While few people are aware that the transition to digital radio lurks just
over the horizon, it could potentially impact the ability of new voices to
get on the air. The Federal Communication Commission is currently
considering different  options for the eventual transition to DAB. In a
Notice of Proposed Rule Making (MM 99-325) released in November of 1999, the
Commission described alternative DAB system models that it wanted to
evaluate in the proceeding. The commission is likely to choose a single
standard by the end of this year.


DAB Systems

One of the DAB systems currently being considered by the FCC is called
"Eureka-147" technology. This DAB is capable of transmitting multiple audio
channels and can operate on various frequencies. Eureka 147 has been
implemented in Canada and Europe and is the only system that offers "the
audio quality and signal robustness performance that listeners would expect
from a new [DAB] service in all reception environments," according to the
Consumer Electronics Manufacturing Association ("CEMA"), which oversaw
laboratory tests of a number of DAB systems. But Eureka-147 may be difficult
to implement in the U.S. because it does not use the FM band. It has
generally been introduced on "L-Band," which is unavailable in the U.S. as
it is reserved for military use.

Another DAB system being explored by the FCC is In-Band On Channel (IBOC)
DAB, which would allow radio stations to make the move from analog to
digital transmission without having to change frequencies. This would
minimize disruptions to stations during the transition to digital and allow
them to remain at the same place on the dial. The radio industry, which
wants to be able to transmit both digital and audio radio signals while
consumers and the industry convert to digital, strongly backs the IBOC DAB
system. In the U.S., two companies -- Lucent Digital Radio Inc. and USA
Digital Radio -- have been competing to develop an IBOC technology that they
hope will become the digital radio standard. IBOC DAB systems, however,
"have still not been conclusively proven to be technically viable at this
point in time," according to the FCC.

In their comments to the FCC, CEMA, National Public Radio and public
interest advocates also posed serious questions about the spectrum
efficiency of IBOC DAB. Under current FCC rules, FM radio stations are
allocated a channel that is 200 KHz wide. Since radio stations rarely use up
the entire amount of bandwidth allocated, the extra space is often used for
ancillary services such as reading for the blind services, Radio Data System
(RDS) information (like song titles and weather forecasts), or even
information for pager networks and other non-radio related services. With
IBOC DAB, stations would be allocated a channel that is 400 KHz wide, even
though their primary signals will not require all of this extra space. Any
unused portion of the spectrum, referred to as 'digital side bands,' would
be available to incumbent broadcasters to use for non-radio-related
programming. Many broadcasters, in fact, appear to be more excited by
secondary uses made able by DAB, than by the enhanced audio it would create.
In its comments to the FCC, the Sony Corporation said that the broadcasting
industry needs an "alternative pipe for the value-added services offered
over the Internet."

DAB and Small Broadcasters

Because of the additional spectrum called for by IBOC proponents, there is
concern that its implementation could hamper efforts to diversify the
airwaves by reducing the amount of bandwidth available for new entrants.
Advocates of the FCC's recently approved low-power FM (LPFM) service fear
that the allocation of 400 KHz for the IBOC system would leave little room
for low-power stations. Even in its DAB NPRM, the FCC recognized that "that
there may be difficulty finding sufficient spectrum for the new service."

In addition to the threat to LPFM, DAB could pose potential problems for
small radio stations that are already on the air. The Small Business
Administration (SBA) has concerns that the FCC may be too quick in pushing
radio in the digital direction. In comments to the FCC, the SBA suggested
that the Commission was not sufficiently aware of the financial impact that
the digital switch could have on single-station owners and small broadcast
groups: "The commission...offers scant reassurance that small broadcasters,
which constitute 96% of all audio radio stations, would be able to afford
digital equipment."

The Public Interest Position

If DAB is to serve the American people and not just the radio industry, then
it is essential that the public interest ramifications of IBOC, or any other
DAB system, are fully explored before it becomes the law of the land. Just
as the FCC has adopted a Notice of Inquiry to examine how broadcasters can
best serve the public interest during and after the transition to digital
TV, public interest advocates have asked the FCC to consider increased
public interest dividends to accompany any increased allocation of spectrum
to radio broadcasters. Additional spectrum, which would open new revenue
streams for broadcasters, should not be given away without consideration of
how DAB can be used to better serve the American public.

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