London – by Rosita Pirulli
Norway is going to switch off FM (Frequency Modulation) radio, becoming the first country to use only DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasters) technology from tomorrow onwards. The event is taking place in the city of Bodø.
The first DAB radio was launched in 1995 in Norway, in the UK and in Sweden with the aim of giving the best sound quality and channel diversity to the audience. Today it is used by several European countries and even across Asia Pacific areas.
DAB is a network system suitable for TV and mobile or digital radio, which also avoids interference and signal noise more than the analogue radio. It gives real time information and updates that are useful during travels.
Switching off FM radio would mean saving money, as the nation is going to use only one platform. According to the latest statistics, it could save 200,000 million Norwegian kroner. However, some people insist on the future amount of money that needs to be spent for the new devices. It is a fact that DAB radio requests more power and money than FM radio, in order to guarantee the best service and this is a point most of the people are talking about. In fact, the current decision has received several critiques in Norway, especially from those considering cars and homes as a big challenge.
Ib Thomsen, an MP from the Progress Party, said: “There are 2m cars on Norwegian roads that don’t have DAB receivers, and millions of radios in Norwegian homes will stop working when the FM net is switched off. So there is definitely a safety concern.”
In addition to this, it is believed that a digital adaptor for cars costs 1,500 Norwegian kroner, which is equal to £140 in the UK.
According to Ib Thomsen, this initiative is not a convenient investment: DAB radio will not have more channels than FM radio and a lot of money would be spent only for clearer sounds.
66 per cent of the population has agreed on a similar negative position, as an opinion poll reported last month, making the next steps of this plan harder.
At the moment, the data recorded in 2015 by ‘TNS Gallup’ state that the DAB coverage in Norway is at least 99, 5%, with a 20% of private cars with DAB radio. Also, 56% listeners use digital radio, reaching and exceeding the criteria of the 50% listeners imposed before the switchover.
In the meantime, countries such as the UK, Denmark and Switzerland are looking forward to seeing the outcomes of Norway’s decision, before deciding what to do by 2022 or 2024.