22 Nov DRM Presented at Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU) General Assembly in Cuba

During the CBU General Assembly, the third to be held in Cuba, the DRM representatives (Alexander Zink of Fraunhofer IIs and myself representing Radio France International) had the opportunity to put forward all the benefits of DRM to over a hundred delegates from 22 countries with different geographies and at different political and economic development stages.

The recognised flexibility and adaptability of DRM to fit each broadcasting scenario and needs are well suited to answer the many issues raised by CBU. They range from the needs of national broadcasters, regional networks, the need for maritime security, emergency warning and quick and comprehensive news and information, as demonstrated recently by the devastating hurricane Matthews.

The role of public broadcasting in ensuring the resilience of radio and continued role among the Caribbean nations was underlined by special guest Frederik Ndolu, member of the board of the Indonesian public broadcaster, RRI. He also touched on the benefits of DRM for his country, a huge archipelago of over 17,000 islands. This interested greatly the island countries of the Caribbean.

The presentations were accompanied by DRM short wave transmissions enabled by Babcock International form their station on the Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean. The transmission of BBC content was received in Havana but also in Colombia, Brazil and some southern states of the United States.

In conclusion, though the CBU countries are just starting to look at with radio digitisation, I strongly believe that our CBU friends have fully grasped the challenges and advantages represented by a migration to digital radio with the DRM standard.

Carlos Acciari (RFI)