[cma-l] The BBC to fund DAB coverage up to 97%.

Tue Oct 25 19:03:30 BST 2011

We do need a plan for community radio that covers the diversity of the
sector..

This can include a commitment for analogue stations as long as the spectrum
continues to have the support of the radio sector as a whole and the
government.. we should be engaged with the digital plan to encourage larger
commercial and BBC players of the spectrum to free it up for ultra local
radio stations / community radio..

However we also need to be clear that there should be a clear and fair route
to digital (DAB) for community stations, either simulcast or just DAB
platform. I think we also need to push for greater support and acceptance
for fully fledged online only community radio...

We should also be pushing for platform agnostic radio devices and EPG.. eg
it doesnt define stations by platform, and ignores that completely and just
show stations available.. Be that FM, DAB and Internet.

Martin

On Tue, Oct 25, 2011 at 6:19 PM, Ian Hickling <transplanfm at hotmail.com>wrote:

>
>
> Alan - I think that's just the message that the media would just love to
> jump on.
> I have to disagree most strongly with your concept of the Analogue Dark
> Ages.
> I'd far rather see us broadcasting in analogue that not at all - or in a
> system which is already consigned to the technical dustbin by almost
> everyone else on the planet.
> Once again - can I make the point that there is nothing magic or generic
> about this word "Digital".
> We have to put in place a system which is compatible with the rest of the
> broadcasting world so that receiver and vehicle manufacturers can have
> confidence in producing equipment which is not purely devoted to the UK
> market.
> At the moment there is no sign of this happening.
> Sure - we should have a plan for "Digital" - whatever that may mean.
> But we haven't a platform yet to work on, so there's nothing
> worthwhile moving to!
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> *Ian Hickling
> **Partner*
>
> *transplan UK*
>
>
>  ------------------------------
> From: alan.coote at btinternet.com
> To: cma-l at commedia.org.uk
> Date: Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:41:39 +0100
> Subject: Re: [cma-l] The BBC to fund DAB coverage up to 97%.
>
>  There is a real danger of CR being left in the analogue dark ages if we
> don’t have a plan for digital.
>
>
>
> There’s surly a strong case for establishing a dialogue with the BBC and
> commercial companies to ensure where possible FM licenced stations have a
> route to digital?
>
>
>
> Alan
>
>
>
> Alan Coote
>
> Business Development 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
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> [image: Description: The-Bay-logo-small.gif]
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk [mailto:
> cma-l-bounces at mailman.commedia.org.uk] *On Behalf Of *Ian Hickling
> *Sent:* 24 October 2011 11:30 AM
> *To:* clive.glover at lineone.net
> *Cc:* cma-l
> *Subject:* [cma-l] The BBC to fund DAB coverage up to 97%.
>
>
>
>
>
> Clive.
> Agreed!
> See my posting just before I read this one.
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> *Ian Hickling
> **Partner*
>
> *transplan UK*
>
>
>
>  ------------------------------
>
> Subject: Re: The BBC to fund DAB coverage up to 97%.
> From: clive.glover at lineone.net
> Date: Mon, 24 Oct 2011 11:04:34 +0100
> CC: tlr at gairloch.co.uk; cma-l at commedia.org.uk
> To: ian at transplan.uk.com <ian at transplan..uk.com>
>
> Ian
>
>
>
> At the Digital Radio meetings which I have attended (along with Jaqui and
> others) we have tried to get the Government and industry people to make
> clear in their publicity etc what exactly they mean by "digital" but they
> have always insisted on deliberately conflating all forms of digital radio
> (by satellite, by cable, by FreeView as well as DAB) as "digital". However
> when I very specifically asked the marketing people about their plans to
> create a digital "tick" campaign to show which radios in the shops were
> "digital" they first told me that these would only be DAB ones, thus
> specifically excluding those (increasingly common) which also include
> "Internet radio" (i.e. streaming). The next meeting they contradicted that
> but I suspect the plan is still to try to sell obsolete DAB sets as
> "digital" in line with the advertising campaigns to promote "digital radios"
> (which always show Pure sets, even on the BBC!).
>
>
>
> The RadioPlayer people have made little secret of their plans to create a
> RP app for iPhones and Android, plus probably a version for FreeView, Sky &
> FreeSat and - perhaps - a version for portable radios. Internet streaming is
> already well on its way to becoming the main "digital radio" format in
> practice even though purists will of course point out it is not a
> broadcasting technology, but  a communications technology (just like Sky TV
> in the early days and look what has happened to that!).
>
>
>
> One day - perhaps - someone in Whitehall will realise they are heading down
> a cul de sac  with a large brick wall at the end.....
>
>
>
> Clive Glover
>
> On 21 Oct 2011, at 18:00, Ian Hickling wrote:
>
>
>
> I didn't see the original announcement.
> So - does this mean that the BBC and presumably H M Government still
> pushing the ancient Eureka 147 format - which is effectively extinct except
> for the UK?
> Or is the term "DAB" used here meant to be a synonym for "Digital Radio"?
> I think we need to have this clarified.
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> *Ian Hickling
> **Partner*
>
> *transplan UK*
>
>
>
>  ------------------------------
>
> From: tlr at gairloch.co.uk
> To: clive.glover at lineone.net
> Date: Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:23:11 +0100
> CC: cma-l at commedia.org.uk
> Subject: Re: [cma-l] The BBC will fund taking DAB up to 97% coverage
>
> Exactly Clive.
>
>  I note that the no doubt very carefully worded BBC statement says
> "national DAB coverage". This almost certainly deliberately excludes rolling
> out the "local" DAB coverage which the commercial companies are also
> refusing to fund.
>
>
>
> So there is another subtle shift in policy here - the "switchover" (as they
> still insist on calling it down in Whitehall) will now be triggered when
> digital listening on *national* services reaches the appropriate limit.
>
>
>
>  What's more, here in Scotland not having a commercial multiplex means
> also not having all the BBC National services.
>
>
>
> In areas with no commercial multiplex we get no BBC Radio Scotland on DAB
> (really!) nor BBC Radio nan Gaidheal (the national Gaelic service). This is
> because the single BBC DAB multiplex is already stretched to the max
> capacity/min quality limits to carry the England-based services.
>
>
>
> In highly populous areas, such as Edinburgh and Glasgow, the BBC gets round
> the problem by renting extra capacity for these services on commercial
> multiplexes, but of course it can't do that anywhere in the north/northwes
> of the UK where there are no commercial multiplexes..
>
>
>
> It also means we don't get the regional news opt-outs from the national
> Radio Scotland service that we currently get at peak times on FM.
>
>
>
> They could have sorted all this by using the northwest as a pilot area for
> DAB+.
>
>
> Alex
>
>
>
>
>
>
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