RADIO NEWS

EU commends WorldDMB

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 13:59

The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union (EU), has come out in support of WorldDMB’s efforts on behalf of the radio industry.

World DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting), formerly called the World Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) Forum, is an international non-governmental organisation which defines the standards for digital audio broadcasting and digital multimedia broadcasting.

Speaking at the Association of European Radio's 20th Anniversary Conference in Brussels this week, European Commissioner for the Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes stressed that radio should not be held back in the digital revolution. Neither should there be complacency about radio’s future.

She noted that there was an absence of standards agreed by the market in 16 EU member states, despite the fact that the WorldDMB industry group had developed receiver specifications which integrate DAB, DAB+ and DMB standards in one receiver.

According to IBE Weekly News, Kroes' speech was likely the most positive statement on digital radio to come from the EU to date. Kroes concluded by calling for all AER members to support her efforts to resolve the technical, political and economic issues that must be overcome in moving digital radio forward.

In the meantime, funding has been approved for German broadcasters to develop their regional DAB+ networks.

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