[cma-l] Fwd: Ofcom to invite small scale DAB testers

[Richard Berry]

It was. He said they will supply the kit but broadcasters should sort out the sites, links etc. The impression I got was that they are mainly seeking community and commercial partners. The less good news from an earlier session on reusing blocks on low power was that to avoid interference you would need more than one site to cover a given area. It's certainly worth exploring


Quickly sent from a mobile. Hope I've not been auto-corrected.


-------- Original message --------
From: Martin Steers <martin at martinsteers.co.uk>
Date:13/10/2014 22:32 (GMT+00:00)
To: CMA Discussion List List <cma-l at commedia.org.uk>
Cc:
Subject: [cma-l] Fwd: Ofcom to invite small scale DAB testers


Very Interesting!

http://radiotoday.co.uk/2014/10/ofcom-to-invite-small-scale-dab-testers/


Small-scale DAB is to get a boost as Ofcom prepares to licence a number of smaller multiplexes.

The regulator will launch a consultation next week inviting stations to be part of the test, which will give existing stations a chance to go on DAB for a nine month period.

Peter Davies, Director of Content Policy at Ofcom, speaking at the Tech Con event in Salford today, said: “There are around 150 small scale radio and 200 or more community radio stations and for them the existing multiplex structure just doesn’t work.

“We want to give those stations a chance to go digital, and we’d like to see community and commercial stations working together,” he said.

Peter started off his session by admitting that DAB has not been a good platform for small scale radio so far and this new consultation will take a look at the licence conditions and awards process.

Trials will be for nine months and ofcom will provide equipment but not operating and installation costs. Once a station has been awarded a trial, they will be expected to be on-air within 12 months.

More details will be released by Ofcom next week, when we’ll update this story.

Posted on Monday, October 13th, 2014 at 3:02 pm by Radio Today UK<http://radiotoday.co.uk/author/radiotoday/>.


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