Overview of the Technologies available for Digitalisation of Terrestrial Radio Broadcasting in Europe1

The FM band (87.5-108 MHz) is home to a large number of radio programmes, and is still the main means of radio broadcasting in Europe. However, the FM band is fully allocated and therefore cannot offer a basis for increased diversity in the radio broadcasting landscape, nor can it offer an increase in the coverage areas of the broadcasters already licensed. Local radio as well as community and training media are the primary victims of this situation, as their coverage is often limited by strong interference from neighbouring transmitter stations on the same or adjacent frequencies. Transmission capacity can be increased by digitalisation and this is a step already taken not only by European television broadcasters, but also by many public radio broadcasters and major private radio groups. Although Internet Radio should also be considered as part of digitalisation, it differs from normal broadcasting by involving third-party telecom providers that charge listeners for fixed and mobile access to otherwise free-to-air programmes. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) define two digital platforms 2 for terrestrial broadcasting of radio: