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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Calibri>Really James? If digital radio had been led by
the market I doubt very much we would be talking about DAB at all (unless you
regard the broadcasters rather than the listeners as the market!)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Calibri>And if it had been technology-led, or even
commonsense-led, DCMS would have mandated a rapid migration to DAB+ between
2008 and 2013, before even considering FM switch-offs, rather than
letting Ofcom and the BBC plough on into the DAB dead-end.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Calibri>I think also you have quite a different
experience of DAB in an urban area with multiple multiplexes commercially
viable. In the vast more remote and rual swatches of the UK, such as here in the
north-west, the coverage footpriunt of the BBC's DAB transmitters is
significantly less than their FM counterparts in many cases. Although DAB can
take advantage of multipath reception, in practice this seems to be outweighed
by the poorer overall propagation in Band III. Here in Gairloch, with a powerful
main transmitter just a few miles away DAB in too weak to be received except in
some favourable patches, not in the main population centres. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Calibri>On top of that, being DAB rather than DAB+, the
BBC multiplex does not have the capacity to carry its own national channels
(Radio Scotland and Radio nan Gaidheal), so it can never achieve FM equivalence
on its own, and areas of low population such as this are not attractive to any
commercial operators. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Calibri>The only answer on the horizon at the moment
seems to be for the BBC to pay for carriage on local DAB multiplexes operated by
the not-for profit micro-commercials/community stations that are spread across
the region. Our local population would then be able to get the local station,
and the BBC Scottish services, but not the UK-wide BBC digital services - maybe
good for us, but not so good for listener choice!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Calibri></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Calibri>Alex</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Calibri>Two Lochs Radio</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=james@cridland.net href="mailto:james@cridland.net">James
Cridland</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=cma-l@mailman.commedia.org.uk
href="mailto:cma-l@mailman.commedia.org.uk">The Community Media Association
Discussion List</A> ; <A title=cma-l@commedia.org.uk
href="mailto:cma-l@commedia.org.uk">cma-l</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, November 16, 2014 9:46
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [cma-l] Community &
Local Radio - the Digital Issue</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<P dir=ltr>When reading this document, remember that the future of digital
radio is led by the market, not just by the technology. To blindly recommend
systems based on technology-only isn't credible.</P>
<P dir=ltr>I don't disagree with his technological conclusions. However,
there's a lot of market conditions that he's ignored, which makes this paper
worthless.</P>
<P dir=ltr>Its an interesting read, though. Thanks for sharing it.<BR></P>
<P>
<HR>
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