[cma-l] Community Radio Future In Doubt?

Wed Dec 8 01:44:54 GMT 2010

Hi Clive,

Thanks for the detailed reply. I have been a strong advocate of DRM+ for a
while and see it as a viable platform for CR and come to that all radio. A
lack of receivers in this country is the real issue. No one is really going
to buy a DRM set just to hear community radio.   

Also I don't think anyone in government yet has the strength to scrap DAB.
It's not that it failed, it just hasn’t succeeded. Technologist call this
the trough of disillusionment.

Its saving grace may yet be the £100M - £200M touted to move it in to
mainstream. If £50M -  £80M was used to fund 50% of a DAB+ radio, that’s
over 5 million sets. Still only a small percentage of current FM radio sets,
but it could boost DAB listening to a critical mass.   

Alan

-----Original Message-----
From: Clive Glover [mailto:clive.glover at lineone.net] 
Sent: 07 December 2010 11:08 AM
To: Alan Coote
Cc: 'jaqui devereux'; cma-l at commedia.org.uk
Subject: Re: [cma-l] Community Radio Future In Doubt?

Alan

I agree we should be defining our own future. But I am not sure about your
first proposal. The coverage area for "local" DAB services is far larger
than for CR stations. For example the "local" DAB service for us (licenced
years ago but still not actually built because of the costs!) covers the
whole of Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire with nine
transmitters, effectively providing coverage from London to Birmingham on
the M1. We don't want to serve this area even if it was offered to us for
free (and it was offered to us at 64 kb mono for several times our annual
turnover!). I discussed with both the multiplex operator and OFCOM's Head of
Engineering the option of including us on the nearest two transmitters and
other CR stations on some of the other transmitters but was told this was
"not possible". I am quite sure that it would be technically possible but
the idea simply doesn't fit into the existing system of licences and
spectrum management for DAB.

So I don't really think the future of CR on a digital platform involves DAB
or DAB+ and I expect it to be closed down within the next few years anyway.

But your third suggestion is along the lines of a suggestion I have already
made to the BIS/DCMS. I have suggested a pilot using DRM+ for a number of CR
stations on the existing "FM" Band II, funded by the Government of course
(Note incidently that DRM+ is not just an extension for VHF frequencies but
is also a multiplexing system so could offer two different services). At
present the only DRM experiment was at BBC Radio Devon on MW and the BBC has
officially rejected DRM as an option ever since (although of course the
World Service do use DRM already). BIS have told me they will consider this
in due course after the work has been done to decide what DAB infrastructure
would be needed to "match" the existing FM coverage of the whole UK (so a
couple of years from now!).

But let us also be clear that the main "digital" platform  (although not a
broadcasting technology) is Internet streaming and most of us are already
doing this. Within a very short time this will make us available "digitally"
in vehicles as well as on computers, mobile phones and "internet radios" and
is clearly the consumers' choice for new radio technology. So maybe all
these discussions about platform choices will be redundant anyway!

regards,

Clive Glover

On 6 Dec 2010, at 23:59, Alan Coote wrote:

> Hi Jaqui,
> 
> I don't believe there is another media outlet in the country which 
> would 'ask' the government for a roadmap for their industry. Surely we 
> are clear about the way forward?
> 
> It's in everyone's interest; government, commercial, BBC and Community 
> Radio for there to be a single platform. Logically this must be 
> digital. The replanning  of DAB is an ideal time to be very clear 
> about our needs as a sector.
> 
> May I suggest as a starter for 10;
> 
> a) That as a minimum all current community stations should have access 
> to a FM quality stereo  DAB+ multiplex channel within their current 
> licenced period. I believe the average person in the UK can receive 25 
> - 30 radio services (excluding digital set-top and satellite). DAB+ 
> provides around 18 services per multiplex and with two or three 
> multiplexes per region there is enough room for community radio.
> 
> b) The funding should set at an achievable level and be split between 
> government and individual community radio stations, with a change in 
> the 50% rule enabling stations to find the extra money.
> 
> c) As for areas that DAB+ is not a viable alternative, then there 
> should be a 10 year plan to enable DRM+ to be used within the UK. This 
> would be used in a subpart of the current band II (VHF) spectrum. This 
> then would enable the other part of Band II to be auctioned off, thereby
paying for the DRM+
> introduction.    
> 
> 
> Regards
> Alan
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: jaquicma at googlemail.com [mailto:jaquicma at googlemail.com] On 
> Behalf Of jaqui devereux
> Sent: 06 December 2010 10:09 AM
> To: Alan Coote
> Cc: cma-l
> Subject: Re: [cma-l] Community Radio Future In Doubt?
> 
> Dear Alan
> 
> Absolutely - we are asking for a roadmap for community radio, just to 
> let you know too that we attended the first Digital Radio Ministerial 
> Group and will continue to press for the needs of community radio and 
> other small radio both to keep FM in the medium term and to migrate 
> for those that want to.
> 
> The "at the moment" quote means that FM to be retained for a very long 
> foreseeable future (2025??)
> 
> We will keep you all posted on progress,
> 
> 
> Best wishes
> 
> 
> Jaqui
> 
> --
> Jaqui Devereux
> Director, Community Media Association
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 6 December 2010 08:46, Alan Coote <alan.coote at btinternet.com> wrote:
>> Surely this sounds alarm bells at the CMA?
>> 
>>> From the Independent News Paper this Sunday.
>> 
>> "The DCMS spokeswoman said there were no plans for a sell-off  [FM
> Spectrum]
>> "at the moment", but did not rule it out. "We may come to a situation
> where
>> a proportion of bandwidth is no longer required, and will consider
> possible
>> other uses for it."
>> 
>> With an estimated £100M - £200M going into the proposed DAB upgrade,
> should
>> we not expect space for Community Radio to be included then we're all
> happy
>> that FM can be switched off?
>> 
>> Full story here:
>> 
> http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/tv-radio/so-who-thinks-dab-is-
> the-fu
>> ture-not-enough-of-us-to-make-it-so-2151512.html
>> 
>> Alan
>> 
>> Alan Coote
>> Managing Director
>> The Bay Radio
>> Office 01202 580200
>> Studio 01202 571028
>> Mobile 07801 518858
>> 
>> Email alan.coote at thebayradio.com
>> Web www.thebayradio.com
>> The Bay Radio, 25B Elliott Road, Bournemouth, BH11 8LQ
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
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> 
> 
> 
> --
> Jaqui Devereux
> Director, Community Media Association
> 
> _______________________________________________
> 
> cma-l mailing list - cma-l at commedia.org.uk
> 
> Community Media Association - www.commedia.org.uk 
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