25 May 2010
DAB is already a twenty year old technology and a great deal of debate surrounds whether or not it is the right target for 2015. The new radio scrappage scheme to hasten the digital switchover may prove to be equally mis-directed.
The 20% discount offered by the scrappage scheme is a hefty margin for retailers to swallow at the moment, so it's not surprising that some don't seem keen to participate.
Even radio manufacturers won’t get much from this, as there aren’t many providers of the core DAB technology, so there isn’t much room for innovation. Manufacturers will have much more fun designing really novel internet-based products, especially as new technology emerges.
It's difficult to see who is benefitting from the scrappage scheme idea. Is a spectrum sale really worth it?
The DAB debate is incomplete as it views analogue and DAB as the only radio technologies available to consumers. If you want high quality, good sounding, interactive, personalised radio content, the internet is the place to look. Britons are already spending a hugely increased amount of time online.
IP based radio services offer consumers far more in terms of quality and variety, including on-demand content which DAB cannot provide. By 2015, IP based services will be available on the move for a large proportion of the population so schemes such as the new radio trade-in, which push toward a DAB switchover, are premature."
- Duncan Smith, Commercial Director, Products & Systems Division, Cambridge Consultants
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