[HCDX] Too late for DRM on shortwave?

["Mike Terry" <miketerry73@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Text of editorial analysis by BBC Monitoring's Martin Peters

Heralded as the saviour of shortwave broadcasting, Digital Radio Mondiale
(DRM) was supposed to breathe new life into shortwave and AM broadcasting.

DRM offers high fidelity, even stereo, reception of broadcasts using similar
bandwidth to that occupied by conventional analogue broadcasts. Simple data,
such as scrolling text, is another benefit for the user. For the
broadcaster, robust signal reception is possible using comparatively low
transmission power, meaning a cost saving in energy.

The success of DRM and the renaissance of shortwave hinges on a number of
fundamental assumptions: broadcasters' willingness to continue to produce
material for an overseas market and their readiness to upgrade transmission
facilities, and the public's interest in listening to foreign radio and
their inclination to buy the receivers necessary to decode the signals.

Far from maintaining multilingual output for overseas and expatriate
listeners, recent years have seen an increasing number of broadcasters
downsize their external service, and in some cases, terminate it completely.

Swiss Radio International closed its foreign language shortwave outlets in
October, while Belgium's Radio Vlaanderen International will close its
English, French and German services next year. Ireland's shortwave service
ceased operation at the end of 2003, RTE electing to provide satellite
receivers, free of charge, to those listeners who could demonstrate a
pressing requirement.

Other recent casualties include a raft of Radio Free Europe's eastern-bloc
language streams, the BBC's programming directed toward North America and a
scaling back of Iran's external service. Radio Slovakia International's
future hangs in the balance and it has recently been reported that Israel's
foreign-language Network B is to be axed. With annual budget cuts an ever
present threat, this statistic is undoubtedly destined to rise.

Major players committed to new technology

Contrary to this downward trend, some major broadcasters are demonstrating
their faith in DRM and the future of shortwave. Bonn-based Deutsche Welle
already broadcast over DRM 24 hours a day on shortwave and are investing in
analogue-to-digital migration over the next few years. BBC World Service
offers a DRM service for several hours a day. Others include China Radio
International, Voice of Russia, Radio Nederlands and Vatican Radio.
Meanwhile Radio New Zealand has recently placed an order for a DRM-enabled
transmitter to cover their Pacific-region service area.

One major European broadcaster committed to DRM is Radio Television
Luxembourg (RTL). The RTL group has interests in 24 television channels and
23 radio stations across eight countries.

Despite already operating a brace of regional radio outlets in Germany, RTL
has ambitions to provide a nationwide service; something denied to them
under the current analogue infrastructure. The group's network of FM
transmitters serving France provides only patchy reception, even in some
densely populated areas. RTL views early adoption of DRM as a solution to
both these challenges by using the technology to reinforce its existing
channels.

Plans for opening up new markets, made feasible with DRM, include a possible
fourth network for France and a relaunch of Radio Luxembourg, targeting the
UK. RTL is in talks with equipment manufacturers to encourage the
introduction of suitable receivers in the shops by the second quarter of
2005.

The incentive for consumers to buy into DRM would seem to rest on increased
choice, effortless station acquisition and improved audio quality.
Unfortunately, there may be little overlap between the type of listener
interested in accessing foreign news and the desire for more stations or
improved fidelity. Present shortwave programming may not be enticing enough
to attract listeners. The successful new radio systems are satellite radio
in the USA and Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) in the UK.

In addition, audiences who rely heavily on shortwave broadcasts for their
news would include large numbers living outside of major population centres
in Africa and therefore unlikely to afford to buy the relatively expensive
receivers when they become available. Prices will fall if and when DRM
becomes mainstream. However, so far, only one stand-alone portable radio is
available; the Mayah DRM-2010, costing over 800 dollars. All other available
options rely on connection to a computer.

Alternative programming would draw in a new generation of listeners. To
date, programming mirrors completely that which is already available over
conventional analogue on shortwave. A Germany-based, bilingual music
station, unique to DRM, is planned but is not yet in operation.

Another obstacle DRM must overcome is the competition from established
technologies already providing a satisfactory service. Besides shortwave AM,
there is an increasing number of international broadcasters available via
satellite, over the internet and, in major population centres throughout the
world, through part or full time FM rebroadcasts. It is now possible to
listen to the BBC, Voice of America, Radio France Internationale and many
others - some in stereo - on portable radios or whilst driving in many
towns, even in the Third World.

Finally, and perhaps of most concern, is the threat from the distribution of
broadband Internet over power lines. Power Line Telecommunication (PLT) uses
the same segment of spectrum as currently used by shortwave broadcasters.

An unfavourable side-effect of the system is to pollute the airwaves,
blanketing them in noise and rendering much of the spectrum unusable. The
consortium is on record as saying that the adoption of PLT is incompatible
with the success of DRM. In the United States, despite vociferous opposition
from users of the spectrum, PLT has been given a cautious go-ahead by the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Europe may follow suit, unless a
viable alternative to providing broadband to otherwise unserved areas can be
found.

Additional spectrum sought

The DRM consortium recently announced that it intends to seek a frequency
extension to the system which currently does not permit its use above 30
MHz, generally recognised as the upper limit of shortwave. The proposal
suggests that this be raised to 120 MHz, thereby embracing a significant
portion of the VHF spectrum.

DRM's precise intentions are unknown, but a 1-MHz slice of spectrum at VHF
could accommodate up to around 100 radio stations for consumers within line
of sight of the transmitter and largely resilient to PLT-borne interference
and the vagaries of variable radio propagation: an attractive proposition to
broadcasters and listeners alike.

The other contender for the future of digital radio, in Europe and
elsewhere, and hitherto seen as the sole replacement for FM analogue is
Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB). In the United Kingdom, operators have
elected to convey up to 10 radio stations within each multiplex with a
resulting trade-off in audio quality.

In addition to bandwidth considerations, another advantage of DRM over DAB
is that broadcasters need not be bundled into a multiplex, dependent on
whether the national or local provider wishes to carry them. Instead, each
station can be a stand-alone service, completely independent of such
gatekeepers, thus providing lesser broadcasters a mechanism with which to
reach their audience via a digital medium.

With DRM's ability to provide an outlet to niche stations at similar quality
to that offered by DAB in the UK, it's possible that there will be a
struggle for supremacy between the two systems. DRM employs modern,
efficient coding techniques but DAB is already dated and has only made a
major impact in the UK.

In the United States, neither DRM or DAB are used for domestic broadcasting,
as their own home-grown systems take root.

Similar to DRM, the In-Band On-Channel (IBOC) technology has no need for
additional spectrum. However, IBOC permits stations to broadcast digital
versions of their analogue counterparts simultaneously on the same channel,
meaning the system is spectrally efficient. The system also offers seamless
transition between the digital and analogue, should one or other suffer from
poor reception. Satellite radio, with extensive, ground-based fill-in
relays, also provides a multichannel radio service.

Uncertain future for shortwave

If DRM is to be the success its backers are hoping for, a content, not
industry-driven agenda is a prerequisite, as is the easy availability of
affordable receivers.

The future may not lie with international broadcasting on shortwave.
Declining numbers of stations and listeners; little in the way of
alternative programming; threats from interference; and a target audience,
many of whom earn less than a dollar a day, all add up to a considerable
challenge for the proponents of DRM.

Instead, domestic use of DRM on longwave, mediumwave and the proposed VHF
allocation, where armchair listeners will value increased choice and audio
quality, is where this technology may more comfortably sit.

Crucially, DRM's profile is low in the consciousness of the public. Far from
appreciating what the system has to offer, most are unaware of its very
existence.

Source: BBC Monitoring research 26 Nov 04



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