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| The skyline of Aker Brygge, the Norwegian capital Oslo's waterfront and entertainment area (AFP Photo/Odd Andersen) |
Oslo (AFP)
- Norway on Wednesday will become the first country in the world to start
shutting down its FM radio network in favour of digital radio, a bold move
watched closely by other countries around Europe.
Supporters
of Digital Audio Broadcasting say DAB offers better sound quality and more
channels at an eighth of the cost of FM (frequency modulation) transmission,
which was first launched in the US in 1945.
The
authorities also say DAB offers better coverage, allows listeners to catch up
on programmes they have missed and makes it easier to broadcast emergency
messages in times of crisis.
"The
big difference and the main reason behind this big technological shift is that
we want to offer a better radio service to the whole population," Ole
Jorgen Torvmark, the head of Digitalradio Norge, a company owned by public
broadcaster NRK and commercial radio station P4.
Norway,
generally a technology-friendly country, has been preparing for the switchover
for years -- DAB and FM have existed side-by-side since 1995.
There are
currently 22 national digital stations, along with around 20 smaller ones. The
FM spectrum has room for a maximum of only five national stations.
The big
switch-off begins in Nordland, in the country's north, at 11:11 am (1011 GMT)
on Wednesday before expanding to the rest of the country by the end of the
year, making millions of old radios obsolete.
'It's too
expensive'
But many
think the shift is premature.
A poll in
Dagbladet newspaper in December found 66 percent of Norwegians are against
shutting down FM, with only 17 percent in favour.
While
around three quarters of the population have at least one DAB radio set, many
motorists are unhappy, as only about a third of cars currently on the road are
equipped.
Converting
a car radio involves buying an adaptor for between 1,000 and 2,000 kroner (110
to 220 euros), or getting a whole new radio.
"It's
completely stupid, I don't need any more channels than I've already got,"
Eivind Sethov, 76, told AFP in Oslo.
"It's
far too expensive. I'm going to wait till the price of adaptors comes down
before getting one for my car."
So while
the switch to digital will reduce the cost of transmission for broacasters, it
is listeners who will pick up much of the cost of the transition.
But
Torvmark insists the time is right.
"It's
clear that when there's a big technological change, some people ask difficult
questions and are critical," but "most listeners are ready," he
said.
"Every
week more than 2.1 million listeners -- half of the listeners -- listen to
stations that wouldn't have existed without this technological
transition."
Part of the
reason Norway is the first country to switch away from traditional analogue
transmission is to do with topography -- it is expensive to get FM signals to a
small population scattered around a landscape riven with fjords and high
mountains.
Closely
watched
The process
will be watched closely in Europe by Switzerland, Denmark and Britain, where
listeners have taken strongly to digital radio and which all plan plan to shut
down FM radio broadcasts at some point in the future.
The UK has
not set a date but has said it will switch off the FM signal when 50 percent of
all radio listening is digital -- the figure is currently over 35 percent --
and when the DAB signal reaches 90 percent of the population.
But other
countries, including France, where neither commercial nor public broadcasters
have been convinced by the new technology, are lagging behind.
"It's
taken an awfully long time," said Simon Spanswick of the Association for
International Broadcasting.
"Trying
to persuade the public to invest in a new radio... it's a tough ask."
And some
governments are naturally reluctant to upset voters by forcing them to buy new
radios. Germany for example had set 2015 as the FM switch-off date, only to see
it dumped by lawmakers in 2011.
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