The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has just published their final 55-page Report on the Future Delivery of Radio this month (March 2020) based on 22 submissions (including one sent by the DRM Consortium) to their initial Consultation issued in May 2019.

ACMA concludes that due to Australia’s diverse geography and listeners’ requirements, a mix of radio platforms will be considered in the future. According to the report the FM and DAB+ current solutions available in Australia cannot replicate the wide AM coverage advantages.

AM will continue to be an important delivery mechanism for radio broadcasts in the regional and remote Australia, says the report, but  AM radio and its digital version offered by Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) can match the coverage of high-power AM services. ACMA consider it useful to ‘explore the feasibility and desirability of adding DRM technology’ to Australia’s domestic delivery platform mix.  ‘Chipsets which include DRM for AM are available and installed in cars for the Indian market’, states the ACMA report.

ACMA stresses that both ABC and CBAA view DRM for FM as a solution to ‘digitise the sub-metropolitan community radio services that generally do not have DAB+ access. CBAA also noted that DRM for FM could be used to provide additional digital radio services. There is support for new trials of DRM. The ACMA is willing to consider approvals for such trials…’

For the full ACMA Report, please click here