05 Dec Why do we need digital radio when there are satellites – Your Question Answered
Our best specialists will respond in brief to your questions. We will
post them regularly. Please submit them in writing and in audio
with your picture and we will post the answers here. Please keep your
questions short and relevant and send them to: projectoffice@drm.org
Following a recent article I read, I am wondering why we need digital radio when satellite can cover large countries like mine?
(Australian listener)
Satellite is very useful and used up to a point for radio or podcast distribution in countries like US and Canada. However, satellite broadcasting is considered much more expensive than terrestrial broadcasting.
Australia’s Viewer Accessed Satellite TV carries ABC/SBS radio but must be received by a stationary accurately pointed dish. It cannot be received in a moving vehicle or boat. So, for flexibility, easy access, cost, and wide coverage a standard like DRM remains the greenest and best solution, the golden standard.
To this add the in-built emergency warning function which is integral part of the DRM standard. This can be deployed nation-wide and also only target specific areas, if required. This flexibility, as well as the specific data, even in selected language is a level of sophistication that can be delivered by DRM (ewf.drm.org)
