Industry Appeals For Adoption Of Single Digital Radio Technology

Days after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) announced to finalise updated regulations on curbing spam calls and messages by January, industry bodies have reportedly appealed for adoption of a single digital radio technology for India’s digital radio rollout.

As per ET, these industry bodies, including Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI) suggested a unified digital technology for FM broadcasting to maintain cost efficiency. It also suggested Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) and HD Radio as options for All India Radio.

DRM is a digital broadcasting system, capable of broadcasting multimedia content over a wide range of frequencies, including AM and FM bands. Whereas HD Radio is a hybrid analogue-digital system. 

Additionally, the association urged continuation of analogue transmission until digital receivers are adopted by more than 80% of the population. 

Considering the compatible nature of HD Radio with various devices, the India Cellular and Electronics Association suggested its adoption in a phased manner. 

It is pertinent to note that countries like the US, Canada and Mexico have successfully adopted HD Radio. Highlighting this, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said that a single standard could reduce costs and improve receiver accessibility.

To facilitate a smooth transition for existing broadcasters, the organisations suggested various measures.

For instance, while AROI seeked support for broadcasters with 800 MHz frequency allocations to retain these for digital usage, FICCI proposed limiting the annual digital transmission fee at 4% of gross revenue.

The development comes at a time when TRAI has been actively in action to curb spamming lately.

Last month the regulatory body blacklisted 50 entities for spamming end users. Additionally it disconnected more than 2.75 Lakh mobile numbers, telecom resources and SIP DID (session initiation protocol and direct inward dialling) in response to its directives. 

This step was taken after TRAI received more than 7.9 Lakh complaints against UTMs in the first six months of 2024.

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