July 10, 2007
Philippines Allows HD Radio
Manila's iFM 93.9 dwKC started broadcasting in HD Radio format in 2006: The Manila Standard Today reports that they moved from test to full-power transmissions with multicasting this month. The analog signal is 35,000 watts; the digital, 1,000 watts. (In the U.S., the digital signal is typically no more but usually exactly as much as 1/100th the analog strength.) The station is transmitting three channels.
How many receivers are there in use in the Philippines? Probably close to zero, but that's the next move. Broadcasters are eager to get up and running so that there's a signal to tune into. In the early days of television in the U.S., manufacturers were able to show demonstrations and sell sets even in areas with no actual stations broadcasting!
May 18, 2007
Mexico Considers Limited HD Radio
Mexico's spectrum regulator Cofetel is considering different types of digital radio: One proposal would allow stations within 200 miles of the border with the U.S. to broadcast in HD Radio format.
December 27, 2006
Canada May Allow HD Radio
iBiquity could score a big win if Canada opens its airwaves to in-band, on-channel (IBOC) digital radio: The Canadian spectrum regulator, the Radio, Television, and Telecommunications Commission, will allow broadcasts in HD Radio format over Canadian airwaves if another agency, the Department of Industry, also approves of the format. This would be an enormous benefit to HD Radio equipment makers, which would require relatively little tweaking--beyond, perhaps, ensuring bilingual compatibility--of receivers already for sale or designed for the US market. CBC has been testing IBOC.
There's a large suspicion that while FM would go the route of IBOC, that AM would perhaps choose Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), which is a path that some in the U.S. believe will occur here as well. DRM has a somewhat different approach and different encoders. AM stations in the US have had little interest so far in HD Radio, which cannot be broadcast during night time hours, due to FCC concerns over interference. (The ionosphere changes its reflectivity in its lowest layer when it is dark out, increasing the skipping range of AM signals.)
Canada allowed satellite digital radio in Dec. 2005. Before then, a kind of gray market existed in which Canadians purchased receivers that were illegal to operate in their own country, but which could receive XM and Sirius signals.
December 7, 2006
HD Radio Demoed in Hong Kong
iBiquity had its technology demonstrated at the ITU Telecom World 2006 conference: Working with two others firms, HD Radio was demonstrated on 100.1 MHz during the event. Ultimately, iBiquity is hoping to spread its flavor of digital broadcast to countries that have made no decision yet; I've also heard there's some interest in harmonization that could allow it to co-exist with other digital radio standards.
November 4, 2006
Brazil Expands HD Radio Interest
HD Radio a US built and deployed technology, but Brazil and the rest of South America may wind up being significant components of the mix: Brazil allows HD Radio's IBOC (in-band, on-channel) digital broadcasts, and the country is ramping up for more service. Just 16 stations broadcast HD Radio signals, but they serve 30 million listeners. A Brazilian broadcaster group has formed a local digital alliance to extend interest. While the press release includes a list of countries "deploying or testing HD Radio technology," I heard this week that Argentina is a likely future adopter as well. Having two massive South American countries add this option could do wonders for volume production of radios. Adoption will be limited in both countries until radio costs go way down as there's already an income disparity between the US and those nations, making an exported $200 radio cost far more in buying power.
April 11, 2006
HD Radio Tested in France
The company Broadcast Electronics has installed an HD Radio FM system in Paris: On 88.2 MHz, you can pick up a low-power HD Radio signal in the City of Lights. This is most likely the first and only HD Radio system operating full-time in France. Most European countries have adopted Eureka-147 which has seen little acceptance outside of the UK, where millions of Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) servers have been sold. This test of HD Radio might be the first fusillade in a format war--it all depends on regulators and radios, meaning what's allowed and what's available for use.