London, 6th July 2009: The DRM Consortium Steering Board, which represents almost 100 members, affiliates and supporters, has welcomed the publication of the British Government’s strategic vision encompassed in the Digital Britain Report but has asked DRM to be made part of the digital radio framework for the UK. In a letter sent to Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), which published the report recently, the Consortium’s top decision-making body has pointed out that the Digital Britain report could miss out the opportunity to truly digitise Britain, especially in some rural and sparsely populated areas, by overlooking the valuable and economic solution offered by the Digital Radio Mondiale technology. Furthermore the Consortium has stated that a combination of DRM and DAB (which are complimentary technologies) would help deliver the goal of Digital Britain in a more complete manner for the radio market. The report has already identified DRM as a unique solution for Medium Wave digital transfer, and the DRM Consortium recommends its use on 26 MHz and of DRM+ (up to 174 MHz) as the solution for local radio, ultra local radio and small or specialised communities.
Ruxandra Obreja, Chairman of the DRM Consortium says on behalf of the Steering Board “The UK has made significant contributions to the development of both these digital broadcasting systems. Once radio is in the digital domain delivering the extra features the Digital Britain report presents so eloquently, it should not matter to the listener by which method they receive the full complement of channels and services no matter where they live in Britain. If the government recommends both DRM and DAB as the way forward, it will have the complete solution for comprehensive digital radio coverage of the UK."
(DRM Consortium Press Release)
