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Ofcom DAB switchover coverage planning proposals

Ofcom has recently published some details of how the DAB network can be improved to match the coverage of the current FM network.

Ofcom has recently published some details of how the DAB networ
Published on by on UK Free TV
The proposals cover the most pressing needs for the DAB network:

  • provision of local radio DAB for those areas with no current coverage
  • coverage of both homes and in-car use
  • the addition of a new block (5A) that will allow the local radio blocks to expand to fill the "editorial" coverage areas to match the current FM areas
  • the use of 99%/99% DAB prediction for indoor home reception, and normal car use.


Of particular interest are:



Ofcom is asking for responses using this online form: stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk link icon  Responding to the DAB Coverage Planning consultation by 5pm on 14 September 2011.





Your comments: most recent posts are at the bottom

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Briantist
Wednesday 20 July 2011 10:15PM
Mark: There's more about the DRM trial here - BBC - Devon - Digital Medium Wave - Digital medium wave trial report .
Trevor Harris
Thursday 21 July 2011 2:17PM
Yes Steve P you are right the number of FM recievers is massive. Just about every mobile has an FM tuner. Most DAB radios have FM tuners so switching off DAB will have a minute impact compared to switching off FM.

I don't know about DRM+ being dead I just think it hasn't be born yet. As I pointed out it is about 5 times more spectrally efficient. The BBC experiment was very interesting. The interference mentioned by Mark comes from a Spanish station which reduces the night coverage on both AM and DRM. The BBC used a very low bitrate of 23kb/s inorder to keep within the mw channel limits.

Whether DRM will be a commercial success I just don't know. It certainly is technically far superia to the legacy DAB system.

Ofcom wants to sell off the FM white space and that would prevent it being used for DRM.

I notice Mark that you want choice but unfortunatly DAB will not do that. It will give you lots of stations but they all sound the same. The reason is that most of them are run by large broadcasting companies. Ofcom has failed to deliver the variety that independent stations can bring. The automatic renewing of FM licences has not helped. That is why there are so many pirate stations which have quite large audiances. They often specialize in a particular gendre of music. The other problem is that DAB is too expensive. Not a single DAB only station makes a profit.
Mark
Thursday 21 July 2011 6:23PM
Trevor, I'm not sure if you have ever listened to BBC Radio 6 Music or Jazz FM but no FM station plays the kind of music that they do. BBC Radio 6 Music alone justifies the licence fee - the range of music played is unequalled at around 4,000 unique tracks each month.

Most areas of the country have a commercial radio "choice" on FM of Heart (or something similar) and maybe a small-scale station pumping out the same cheesy hits. Then there are regionals such as Real Radio and Capital also pumping out the same old stuff.

The pirate FM stations that you refer to are mainly playing the same kind of stuff as BBC 1Xtra and Choice on DAB.

I'm not sure if your claim about the financial state of digital-only stations is correct, but I think Absolute 80s and Jazz FM both cover their operating costs with the advertising and sponsorship income they attract. They have both attracted decent audiences and are growing.

Interesting to note that today sees the launch of a new local radio for the South Wales valleys on DAB-only - Mountain Radio. This replaces the AM station that closed a couple of years ago and provides a much-needed community service for the area.

www.mountainfm.co.uk link icon Welcome to Mountain FM's Website
Briantist
Friday 22 July 2011 7:31AM

Mark: "comparemyradio" is an excellent resource - Comparing: Heart Sussex to BBC 6 Music - Compare My Radio - it makes a very good point about how different BBC Radio 6 Music to the commercial stations.


Trevor Harris
Sunday 24 July 2011 8:25AM
The difference is money. I read recently that the BBC spends over £4000 per hour for some of its radio 4 programs. Its only the forced licence that makes it impossible for anyone else to compete.
michael
Sunday 24 July 2011 10:43AM
Good to see a community-style station on DAB. Loud and clear this side of the water. Technically noteworthy the re-allocation of bitrates - see below.

"Interesting to note that today sees the launch of a new local radio for the South Wales valleys on DAB-only - Mountain Radio. This replaces the AM station that closed a couple of years ago and provides a much-needed community service for the area." http://www.mountainfm.co.uk/" (Mark)

"Space on the otherwise full multiplex has been made available by GMG, which has reduced the bit rate of its Rock Radio and Real Radio services. It launched at 7am today (Wednesday). In related news, Nation Radio has gained permission to drop from 128 k/bits to 64 k/bits on the same multiplex, to allow sister-station Bay Radio to commence broadcasting on the DAB platform using the remaining space." (Radio Today)

Briantist
Monday 25 July 2011 8:38AM
michael: Yes, indeed, it would be very sensible to allow community stations to use any unallocated DAB multiplex space. Indeed, it should probably be the law that any space on any multiplex should be notified to Ofcom and allocated for free within 24 hours.
michael
Monday 25 July 2011 9:25AM
Good idea, Brian. If only there were more flexibility in "the system"... For example, BBC local radio could do the same and broadcast from Wales to the northern wastes of Devon, thereby reducing the number of infill transmitters required for full coverage. I am impressed with reception from Wales via my DAB cheapo, on-floor with 30cm aerial - much better than expected. Maybe somebody camping in northern France will report back soon!
Briantist
Tuesday 26 July 2011 9:59AM
michael : Given that the community stations are on air, and carrying 80kbps over the net is almost no cost, it would make DAB a better consumer proposition and encourage commercial stations in the process.
Trevor Harris
Tuesday 26 July 2011 4:06PM
So we see yet another desparate attempt to make DAB pay by lowering the quality yet again.
Why the name MountainFM when this station does not transmit on FM. Is it trying to convey that it attains the quality of a real FM station.

No DAB only radio station makes a profit. Looking at the web site we read.

Mountain FM is supported by Coalfields Regeneration Trust. The project has been part funded by the EU's Convergence European Regional Development Fund through the Welsh Assembly Government.

Which explains how Mountain FM can afford to transmit on DAB. Of course what they realy need is an FM frequency.
Mark
Tuesday 26 July 2011 6:27PM
If Mountain applied for an FM community radio licence they wouldn't be allocated enough frequencies to cover the whole of South Wales, only the Ebbw Vale area.

As for the claim that no DAB-only station makes a profit that can't possibly be right.

Absolute 80s has lots of adverts and is largely automated so it must cover its running costs, especially with 624,000 listeners per week, according to RAJAR.

Similarly Jazz FM has many advertisers and sponsors. A look at their website will tell you this. They have a weekly reach of 495,000 listeners.
Nedbod
Tuesday 26 July 2011 9:49PM
LW is still pretty good in the Toyota’s assuming you can find the older models the new cars don’t have LW just MW, FM and a DAB button, but don’t be fooled you have to pay £600 extra if you want DAB itself !!

As the bit rate on most DAB stations is so bad cf FM & gives such poor sound quality, I wouln’t bother until you are forced to. As an alternative I use the i-player to record my favourite progs onto a recordable CD and then finalise them to play in the car. This is actually better quality now than DAB and in stereo on BBC Radio 4 Extra whereas DAB is in mono at a much lower sound quality. Why the govt & Ofcom can’t give the BBC enough bits to broadcast their services on RADIO is beyond me. Guess who broacasts BBC RADIO with the highest bit rate and also BBC R4 LW in the best quality. YES Mr Murdoch’s SKY TV (B SKYB) !!!!!!!!!!!!!! ABSOLUTELY TYPICAL. Why are we paying a licence fee so SKY can provide BBC services in the best audio available and not the BBC themselves. Crazy world, crazy service. At least when BBC WS was on SW the programmes were better, more varied and much more interesting. We seem to have lost the plot these days, all this technology and a worse end product !!


Bring back 648kHz, no wonder BBC WS listenership has fallen recently.
Trevor Harris
Tuesday 26 July 2011 11:20PM
@Mark

Absolute 80s is part of the Absolute group and to quote:

Pre-tax losses of £2.7m in 2008 slipped to £4.3m in recession-ravaged 2009. Official figures for 2010 will not be available until the fourth quarter but are expected to remain in the red, despite a marked recovery.

A report in the Times last December quoted the chief executive:

The company is on track to break even in 2011, “despite the tough times with the economy,”

This he hopes to do with other ventures like concerts and special events.

Advertizing revenues for commercial stations has been declining since 2004. The Government cut backs alone will reduce. revenues by 9%.
Trevor Harris
Tuesday 26 July 2011 11:39PM
Sorry the report in the Times was for Jazz FM.

@Nedbod

The Worldservice is available on the internet at 64kb/s AAC. There are going to be realy big cuts in WS when the BBC has to pay for them.
Mark
Wednesday 27 July 2011 11:13AM
Trevor

Absolute as a group have lost money because of their large investment in technology (website, phone apps etc) but that doesn't mean that Absolute 80s as a station hasn't made a profit. Absolute is likely to be sold back to Virgin shortly, according to press reports.

The Jazz FM 2011 accounts haven't been published yet. The 2010 figures show a loss but much of this is start up costs.

Advertising revenue on radio has declined mainly as a result of Government cutbacks in public campaigns, but the Department of Health has now done a U-turn and reversed this policy after research showed that the campaigns were having an impact. Going forward you can expect the Government spending on radio to rise again.

@ Nedbod

You don't need a Sky sub to listen to the BBC stations on satellite. You can get Freesat.
Trevor Harris
Wednesday 27 July 2011 3:52PM
@Mark

This list price of a national DAB station at 64kb/s is about £1M per year. Premiere Radio managed to get theirs for £650,000 per year. That was a bargain which shows how desperate the multiplex owners are to sell space. I suspect they made a loss on that deal. Just look at Jazz FM's listening hours and it is easy to see how difficult it is to make a profit.

Of course Absolute Radio has AM, FM and DAB stations but still can't make a profit.
Steve P
Wednesday 27 July 2011 6:38PM
Trevor - By the nature of the thing, almost all the costs are fixed whether the capacity is used or not. So if £1m is asking price £650k almost certainly produces a lot of gross margin contribution towards fixed costs - probably well over £600,000.

It is the same economics as plane seats; oil refining, or butchering.
Mark
Thursday 28 July 2011 7:19PM
£1 million is the price that BFBS were reported to be paying for their 128kbps* capacity, so £650,000 for a 64k stream seems about the right price for half the capacity.

I'm not sure if those figures are before or after Arqiva were required to lower their prices as a condition for the merger with NGW. The rates went down by about 20% as I recall.

Digital One's multiplex is now virtually full (I think there is 16 kbps spare) so they don't need to be giving discounts to religious groups or anyone else.

* The bit rate for BFBS has now reduced to 80kbps as a result of MOD funding cuts.
Nedbod
Friday 29 July 2011 9:01AM Peterborough
Yes you can receive BBC Radio on Freesat, but you have to pay for a new dish and equipment and is the bit rate for the Radio Stations on Freesat as good as SKY on all channels ?

Why don't the government open up more of the DAB spectrum to allow the BBC to broadcast all their stations at a high bit rate say on the Multiplex originally earmarked for Channel 4 Radio which they pulled out of. Currently a waste of possible bits.
Briantist
Friday 29 July 2011 9:04AM
Nedbod: Surelt, it can't have escaped your attention that Freesat and Sky are the same transmissions from the same satellites?

The BBC do not wish to run a second multiplex, as it would double their costs and those people wanting higher bitrates can use Freesat/Freeview (MPEG2, L3) and online (AAC).
Trevor Harris
Monday 8 August 2011 9:50AM
Interesting stat I came across. Only one in five radios sold in the UK have DAB!. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.
Briantist
Monday 8 August 2011 11:35AM
Trevor Harris: As rebutted at Lies, statistics, and anti-DAB campaigners - James Cridland .
Steve P
Monday 8 August 2011 7:34PM
Brian - your quote (extract follows) is not a rebuttal at all. It agrees with the statistic, but objects that it includes multi function devices.

So what. It is if anything worse to make a multi-function devide obsolete than a dedicated one. I USE many of the devices quoted. I want to carry on using them. Most of them will outlive me.

Your link also points out that DAB "reach" is NOT the 26% often quoted, but only 16%.

By all means let those who want DAB have it. But let those of us who do not, not bother.

HANDS OFF FM.

QUOTE FROM LINK

<< 8.5 million radio‘s were bought last year in the UK but only 22% had a DAB tuner. Why don’t listeners want DAB radio? Why are 78% of people who go and buy a new radio opting for just FM and AM coverage?
In fact, Ofcom calls them ‘radio devices’, for a very good reason: they’re not all primarily bought as radios. They’re quoting GFK figures, who define these radio devices (fig 7) as portable radios, personal media players, car audio systems, home audio systems, clock radios, radio recorders, headphone stereos, tuners and receivers. It’s difficult to argue that the primary purpose of an iPod Nano, which has an FM radio in it, is as a radio: or, for that matter, a car. Radio’s ubiquity in new devices means that you see a lot of devices having radio inside. >>
Briantist
Monday 8 August 2011 8:53PM
Right, this has turned into another Delusional DAB arguments page | ukfree.tv - independent free digital TV advice .
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