A radio manager in our local paper last week, wrote a editorial giving the impression that digital broadcasting would not happening Canada - he never mentioned HD Radio - just DAB+ , which was buried deep under peat moss years ago by the CRTC. The industry obviously thinks otherwise.
http://www.insideradio.com/free/bro...cle_4f5687cc-fa5f-11e6-b0c3-1f5175cdad24.html
The North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) has released a position paper that advocates for the creation of a voluntary continent-wide digital radio broadcast standard. NABA believes the move “would be beneficial to both listeners and broadcasters.”
Based on its analysis, and outlined in the paper, the group believes that HD Radio IBOC technology should be adopted as a “North American Digital Radio Standard” for Canada, Mexico and the United States. In the paper, NABA says, “It is logical to consider the harmonisation of regulation and voluntary standardisation of HD Radio across all of North America to maximise the potential economic, regulatory and service quality benefits across all borders.”
The paper, drafted by an NABA working group, was presented to regulatory officials from the three nations this week and FCC chair Ajit Pai “in an effort to spark discussion about a unified voluntary standard,” the organisation added.
In the position paper, NABA outlines, “The basic motivations for transitioning from analogue to digital technology are enhanced performance, added capabilities, reliability, flexibility and cost-efficient manufacturing. Despite the obvious benefits of digital radio, terrestrial radio has remained one of the last bastions for analogue service.”
It adds, “While recent broadcast standards activities indicate increasing interest in the digitalisation of VHF band II (87.5 to 108 MHz), many countries lack the additional spectrum required to accommodate a parallel transition of radio from analogue to digital service on a new frequency assignment. This is certainly the case in North America.” IBOC technology allows broadcasters to add digital signals to their existing analogue broadcasts without new spectrum, while providing the capability “for an eventual move to all-digital transmission,” NABA states. “The technology acts as a bridge from analogue to digital services.”
In its conclusion, NABA writes, “IBOC digital radio technology has been adopted for use in the U.S. and Mexico and is currently authorised for experimental use in Canada. NABA is supportive of and encourages broadcasters and regulators in all three countries to work together to advance the roll-out of HD Radio digital radio services across North America, to create a de facto voluntary North American digital radio standard. NABA further encourages all North American broadcasters to participate in the activities of the NABA Radio Committee to help achieve these goals.”
