| Digi B Network to start DAB+ digital radio rollout by the end of 2007
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| Written by HiVoltage |
Saturday, 14 April 2007
Back in March 2006, MCA granted a licence to Digi B Network to build
and operate a Terrestrial DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) radio
network in the Maltese territory using 4 frequencies for which Digi B
was the highest bidder. In simpler words, Digi B was granted the rights
to operate a digital radio network covering the Maltese islands. Since
then, we haven't heard much from this company, but that doesn't mean
that nothing has been going on in the background. To start with, the
original DAB standard uses MPEG-2. As most technical people here
already know, this is now a very old codec which is less efficient than
the MP3 codec which most of us use every day. MP3 is in turn less
efficient than newer codecs which include AAC and AAC+. Up till now,
the UK has been the country which supported DAB the most, and has the
widest listener base. However, with bandwidth being limited, and more
radio stations wanting to transmit on the DAB platform, broadcasters
started decreasing the bitrate for all channels in order to squeeze
more. Since MPEG-2 requires quite a high bitrate to sound good, this
resulted in low quality sound, with most people claiming that DAB
sounds worse than FM.
About 2 months ago, in February 2007, an upgrade to the DAB standard
was created - DAB+. Among other improvements, this new standard
supports the AAC and AAC+ codecs. However, although the new standard is
available, a few months have to pass until receivers capable of
receiving DAB+ transmissions find their way on the shelves. Frontier
Silicon - the manufacturer of around 75% of the DAB receiver modules
expects to have modules supporting the new standard by the third
quarter of this year. These then have to be implemented in new consumer
receivers, and finally, find their way to the stores - which will take
around till the end of the year.
Maltameter has been in contact with Digi B to get more first hand
information about the current status. To start with, Digi B confirmed
that they will definitely be using the new DAB+ standard, mentioning
the codec efficiency as the number 1 reason behind this decision. Also,
the company is very keen in starting rolling out their network, but
first, some issues must be tackled. First, there is a problem with the
frequency coordination with neighbouring countries. Up till now, only 1
of the 4 frequencies has been confirmed. MCA still has to discuss with
other countries - mainly Italy, regarding the rights of the remaining
3. The other problem is receiver availability. It is useless starting
transmitting now when it's practically impossible to buy a radio
capable of receiving DAB+. With this considerations in mind, Digi B
Network expects to start commercial rollout towards the end of this
year, and Malta is expected to be one of the first countries to have an
operational DAB+ network.
Up till now, Calypso Radio and Voice of America (VOA), are the two
channels that will offically be on board on the DAB+ platform.
Negotiations with other foreign stations have already been finalized,
although these haven't been announced yet, and also, Digi B have
received a number of requests from new local stations to be included.
Apart from that, a call for expression of interest for new stations
will be issued shortly.
An interesting aspect of DAB is that mobile television can be
transmitted on the same transmitters, using a standard named DMB
(Digital Multimedia Broadcasting), or DAB-IP. These are not to be
confused with DVB-H, which is a different standard based on DVB, which
is used for digital terrestrial, satellite and cable. Digi-B expects to
start broadcasting mobile TV as early as 2008.
Link:
Digi B Network website
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| Last Updated ( Thursday, 19 April 2007 ) |
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