Digital radio will be made permanent in all major Australian cities

Staff Writer

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has finalised plans for the future development of digital radio in all capital cities of Australia.

According to the ACMA, trial services in Canberra and Darwin will be made permanent while regulatory arrangements have been completed for digital radio to be made available in Hobart.

Digital radio services using DAB+ technology have been running permanently in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth since July 2009, with today’s announcement set to complete the nationwide rollout.

Acting ACMA chairman Richard Bean said: ‘Finalising digital radio channel plans is an important step in completing the capital city roll-out of digital radio.

“The ACMA will now commence discussions with the broadcasters about starting the transmitter licence allocation process,” he added.

No set date has been announced for the rollout, however the timeframe of the operation will be determined once broadcasters finalise the arrangements to deploy their new digital radio infrastructure.

There has also been an indication that many regional radio broadcasters are eager to provide digital offerings. Thus, the Government has commissioned the ACMA to identify which regional markets wish to commence services and prioritise planning accordingly.

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