US Wary About Ditching FM Radio

Norway has confirmed it will switch off FM radio signals in 2017, making it the first country to do so. United States officials say they are likely to let the switch to digital radio happen more gradually.

Several countries, including the US, have already switched off analog TV signals, with consumers instead either using digital over-the-air services or switching entirely to cable and satellite. In the US, only a few low-power, very local analog broadcasts remain, and they are due to switch off by this September.

Analog Radio Sets Still Widely Used

The digital switchover for radio worldwide has been much slower, however. That's largely because while many people are happy to replace televisions now and again (particularly when flat-screen models became more affordable), they are more likely to hold on to radio sets for many years. Radio use is also particularly common in cars, where replacing an analog receiver with a digital one can be prohibitively expensive.

On the other hand, Norway is well set to make the move to digital. It was among the first countries to launch digital radio, and now has 22 national digital channels, compared with five still broadcasting for FM. The plan is to start the shutdown in January 2017, but switch off will happen gradually, region by region. That will make it easier to deal with complaints and queries from listeners having problems buying and using digital sets. (Source: cnn.com)

Switching to radio broadcasts can free up airwaves for other uses, allow more stations, or a combination of the two. However, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which oversees radio in the US, says it has no plans to switch off analog signals.

Only Congress Could Force US Switch Off

The FCC says any such move would need Congress to pass a law. It also notes the impact would be huge, as an estimated 500 million analog radio receivers are still used in the US. (Source: yahoo.com)

While up-to-date figures aren't available, it appears most Americans already listen to radio on a digital device, though that figure is hard to quantify. That's because there are a number of factors involved, including whether smartphones, computers and tablets are included; or whether people are listening to recorded shows rather than live broadcasts; and whether people are listening to podcasts that are never broadcast over the air.

Although it's against a mandatory analog switch off, the FCC believes radio stations will increasingly switch over to digital voluntarily. Industry figures suggest that bigger radio stations will lead the way. In fact, most major stations already broadcast digitally, though only one-fifth of all stations do so.

What's Your Opinion?

Do you listen to radio on devices such as computers and phones, on dedicated digital radio sets, or on FM radios only? Should the US follow Norway's plan, and switch off analog radio in the same way as happened with TV? Or should broadcasters be allowed to continue using FM frequencies for as long as they like, even if the airwaves could be used more efficiently?