Norway Has Started Shutting Off FM Radio
Norway continues to move away from FM radio towards DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting), a format that we tried in Canada but abandoned because the US would have none of it. This comes from Radio World:
A year ahead of when it is required for Norwegian radio stations to shut down FM broadcasts in favor of digital, Bauer Media’s Kiss and Radio Rock stations have switched off their FM stations and are now exclusively available on DAB+ or the Internet.
All FM radio will be gone from Norway by the end of 2017.
DAB is fine technology offering CD quality sound. However, it does require the purchase of DAB radios (the same of which was abandoned in Canada) and for radio stations to purchase and install DAB transmitters.
Ain’t gonna happen in Canada, though, That ship has sailed. Our next foray into digital will have to come with IP delivery to smartphones and other connected devices.
CD quality does not, per se, mean quality. CD is limited to 20-20,000Hz bandwidth. Analogue vinyl and master tape 5-50,000Hz. No idea what the bandwidth of DAB is.