In August 2023, the Indonesian government recommended that DRM should be adopted for AM, band II and the lower part of band III (174 – 202 MHz) with the higher portion of the band reserved for DAB+.
Speaking recently at the WorldDAB General Assembly, Ignatius Hendrasmo, president director of Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI), confirmed the use of DAB+ in band III but said the Indonesian government also plans to offer Digital Radio Mondiale in this band.
DRM is the only digital broadcasting system covering all frequency bands below and above 30 MHz (longwave, shortwave, medium wave and the VHF bands I, II-FM and III). DAB+ as a local, multi-plexed solution can be only used in the band III.
Indonesia is a country of 273 million people located on the “Ring of Fire” in the Pacific region. It is prone to great natural calamities like tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. “We are prone to disasters,” said Hendrasmo. “That’s why we need to adopt the DRM system with the hope that we can get our early warning system onto it.”
The Emergency Warning capability of DRM is tested and included in the 5 DRM FM transmitters already deployed on the biggest and most populous of the Indonesian 18,000 islands, Java.
The bill to implement DAB+/DRM in Indonesia is before the Indonesian parliament, with enactment expected next year.
