Digital Radio Trials
Digital Radio Broadcasting - DAB
Broadcast Australia has been conducting a public Digital Radio trial in Melbourne for 3 years using the Eureka 147 standard from which it has derived significant consumer and technical information and experience.
Broadcast Australia has also played a key role in the development and extension of the Eureka 147 standard to incorporate an advanced audio coding standard. This work was facilitated through a Technical Committee of the DAB global body, WorldDMB. The extension to the standard to incorporate MPEG-4 audio - now known as DAB+ - has received ETSI endorsement.
The MPEG-4 audio coding standard is significantly more efficient than the MPEG-2 standard currently utilised in the trials. It offers at least twice the number of services at a better than FM quality. MPEG-4 audio will form the standard adopted by Australia making MPEG 2 receivers obsolete.
| Commencement |
November 2003 |
| Transmission |
12.5kW ERP Ensemble 9C (206MHz) |
| Services Offered |
8 Audio-Programs with PAD and N-PAD |
| Trial Activities |
Coverage survey work;
Comparison of predicted and measured signal quality; and
Consumer Market Research.
(200 receivers to Consumer “Panel”) |
| Status |
Completed in June 2008 |
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Digital Radio Mondiale - DRM
A complementary Digital Radio standard known as Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) shows great promise for coverage of Australia’s regional and rural areas. DRM is used the same spectrum as AM broadcasts. Like its DAB counterpart, it is capable of providing greatly improved reception quality largely free from interference. Therefore DRM in this spectrum band is capable of providing high quality audio services over wide areas of regional Australia.
Broadcast Australia, in conjunction with SBS, undertook a series of DRM field tests over a 7 month period from its Gungahlin site in Canberra. The AM-band trial explored a range of services, obtained field performance measurements through extensive drive tests and evaluated a range of transmission equipment and receivers.
DRM makes more efficient use of existing bandwidth and has the potential to allow broadcasters to operate existing services at higher audio quality with increased functionality. It may also be possible to allocate additional channels within the same bandwidth. DRM was originally conceived as a replacement for short-wave analogue technology and is particularly suited to regional and remote radio services.
| Commencement |
Technical Trials commenced in March 2006 |
| Transmission |
2kW transmitter at 1440kHz |
| Services Offered |
1 – 4 SBS audio test channels |
| Modulation Scheme |
QPSK & 16QAM modulation, non-simulcast & simulcast modes, 4.5kHz and 9kHz bandwidth tests |
| Trial Activites |
Initial technical coverage checks with field test vehicles covering Canberra and surrounding region;
Testing of different operating modes and bandwidths;
Simulcast and non-simulcast tests;
Multi-channel audio tests; and
Interference assessments. |
| Status |
Phase 1 completed in December 2006
Phase 2 completed during 2007
ACMA has been advised of testing program and results to-date |
For more information on the Digital Radio Trials being conducted by Broadcast Australia, please contact:
Doug Iles
Engineering Systems Consultant
Tel: +61 2 8113 4698
Email: doug.iles@broadcastaustralia.com.au