It looks like the future might be multiplatform rather than just DAB.
There will not be a switch till DAB matches FM, the big hurdle might be the switchoff of 198 LW about 2020 as it still has reach to some remote areas which DAB, FM or the internet will not reach.
But Freesat and Sky have almost 100% UK coverage for homes (although not cars like LW).
The plan is more or less there for national radio (certainly BBC).
This roll-out - and the concern I expressed - is about the local muxes.
When you say "till DAB matches FM", in this local plan that refers only to the heritage ILR service. BBC locals or smaller ILRs who cover a different patch will have their area changed accordingly. And in the case of some small ILRs, I'm not convinced that migration is likely to be viable (eg if you're Dee in Chester, is it worth you blasting out across Merseyside?)
The backups of satellite and Freeview won't be accessible to most local stations (although the BBC ones are slowly going on Freeview), and although online solutions will grow in viability, they may not fill the mobile gap in these rural areas, some of which are still trogging along on 2G (if they're lucky).
This looks like a massive expansion for local DAB, and is testament to a lot of people's hard work. In terms of growing the existing patchy service, it's great.
But if we ever get to switchover and this becomes the main broadcast distribution channel (which.. let's face it.. is the reason for doing it) I predict there will be howls of anger from rural areas which have benefitted over the years from previous BBC (and IBA?) ideas of universal coverage.
BBC National DAB obvious has it's limits at present but it's known that in the event of DSO that it will need to extend it's coverage.
Digital 1 already exceeds Classic FM coverage by some margin.
Once the Local DAB roll out is complete it should have better coverage than the Heritage ILR stations, although there will be a few areas (e.g. Buxton) where the BBC can't switch over due to lack of BBC LR coverage - however these will probably be covered by any further BBC rollout
In the end these remote rural communities should end up with a significantly better proposition than before - i.e. BBC Radio 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Live, Local replaced with BBC National DAB and Local DAB, and in many cases D1 National too.
On a different but (I thought) related theme... where are we with merging multiplexes and changing frequencies?
I note that (eg) Cambs/Peterborough and Northants/HBB are still listed on different frequencies to their would-be partners - but I thought some of the power increases etc were dependent on rejigging the map and frequencies?
Although Manchester gets a couple more transmitters nothing is being done about the fact that since the closure of the Regional multiplex transmitters the Manchester Multiplex is full to burst, surely a second local Multiplex would be of more value to a large catchment area.
Quite right. Currently eight of the eleven stations on Manchester are FM/AM simulcasts, only Abs 90's, The Hits and Heat are digital only and these are all owned by Bauer. Only when the multiplex first started were there several digital only stations, indeed a couple of the Manchester FM licences didn't come on air until 2006 and 2008.
MXR North West offered a bit of an opportunity but ended up with identikit stations to the local muxes. As there has since been further consolidation in the radio industry, I can see the potential for a mini-regional mux to cover the population centres of Liverpool, South Lancs, North Cheshire and Greater Manchester, perhaps utilising Winter Hill, St. John's Beacon and Sunley Tower only to keep costs to a minumum. If London can support three multiplexes, surely the second biggest UK conurbation can support a second tier?
Quite right. Currently eight of the eleven stations on Manchester are FM/AM simulcasts, only Abs 90's, The Hits and Heat are digital only and these are all owned by Bauer. Only when the multiplex first started were there several digital only stations, indeed a couple of the Manchester FM licences didn't come on air until 2006 and 2008.
MXR North West offered a bit of an opportunity but ended up with identikit stations to the local muxes. As there has since been further consolidation in the radio industry, I can see the potential for a mini-regional mux to cover the population centres of Liverpool, South Lancs, North Cheshire and Greater Manchester, perhaps utilising Winter Hill, St. John's Beacon and Sunley Tower only to keep costs to a minumum. If London can support three multiplexes, surely the second biggest UK conurbation can support a second tier?
3rd biggest conurbation, West Midlands is 2nd, just, source Wikipedia comparing sizes of the two metropolitan counties.
Although Manchester gets a couple more transmitters nothing is being done about the fact that since the closure of the Regional multiplex transmitters the Manchester Multiplex is full to burst, surely a second local Multiplex would be of more value to a large catchment area.
Quite right. Currently eight of the eleven stations on Manchester are FM/AM simulcasts, only Abs 90's, The Hits and Heat are digital only and these are all owned by Bauer. Only when the multiplex first started were there several digital only stations, indeed a couple of the Manchester FM licences didn't come on air until 2006 and 2008.
MXR North West offered a bit of an opportunity but ended up with identikit stations to the local muxes. As there has since been further consolidation in the radio industry, I can see the potential for a mini-regional mux to cover the population centres of Liverpool, South Lancs, North Cheshire and Greater Manchester, perhaps utilising Winter Hill, St. John's Beacon and Sunley Tower only to keep costs to a minumum. If London can support three multiplexes, surely the second biggest UK conurbation can support a second tier?
The Manchester multiplex is due to move frequency so I wonder if Ofcom will consider (re)advertising the current/old frequency for a second local multiplex with less coverage area?
There are the small scale DAB multiplexs on the horizon so I wonder if they will take up the slack?
In the end these remote rural communities should end up with a significantly better proposition than before - i.e. BBC Radio 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Live, Local replaced with BBC National DAB and Local DAB, and in many cases D1 National too.
A lot of people never had a usable 5 live signal.
But a lot of folks still waiting for a decent DAB signal (and who, as you say, may never get D1) have had Broadband for years and have got / are getting fibre. Finally getting 20 stations on DAB isn't going to seem that exciting. Especially when so many people stick to R2+4
But a lot of folks still waiting for a decent DAB signal (and who, as you say, may never get D1) have had Broadband for years and have got / are getting fibre. Finally getting 20 stations on DAB isn't going to seem that exciting. Especially when so many people stick to R2+4
Cheers,
David.
I think you overestimate their enthusiasm for using broadband for radio reception, obviously some use it but many prefer to a radio receiving off air and obviously that is essential for the vast majority if they want to listen in the car.
I have two radios that can receive off broadband as well as several other devices but I can probably count on one hand the number of times that I have done so. I have never noticed friends doing so either.
I'm disappointed to see the following have been omitted from the plan despite being in Ofcom's buildout plans for the past few years:
Reigate - Modification of London I, II, III not listed.
Woldingham - Surrey only, not London multiplexes.
East Grinstead - Sussex omitted despite being in plans (although hopefully Crawley, Heathfield etc will help).
Midhurst - no expansion of Surrey (to cover the far south west of the county).
I wonder if these have been forgotten, omitted or felt unnecessary. They don't seem to be in Step 2 either.
I wonder why Dorking has been added for Surrey. Seems pretty solid outdoors now Stoke D'Abernon has gone live, perhaps indoors is a problem there.
Otherwise, great news. Good to see Kent and Sussex significantly expanding.
Maybe it's i'm one of the few people who actually bothers to put a proper DAB aerial on their car, In South central Hampshire near Southampton I get the Bournemouth and Sussex multiplexes nullifying each other on 11b. I need to block off the side of the aerial needed to recieve one of the other. I also get Berkshire loud and clear as well as Hampshire.
The only thing annoying about DAB ( apart from the bitrates too low for MP2)is you can tell when you drive by a building running those Ethernet home plugs ( which are probably technically illegal) and it momentarily interferes with your DAB reception as you pass by.
I've driven though many supposed DAB dead zones of the map, BBC does pretty well, D1 drops out more, it's a little more patchy but it's normally not gone for long.
My experience is reception is excellent, the quality currently is crap, it was good about 10 -15 years ago.
I think you overestimate their enthusiasm for using broadband for radio reception, obviously some use it but many prefer to a radio receiving off air and obviously that is essential for the vast majority if they want to listen in the car.
Indeed - part of that has been down to the UI in the past - lets face it most internet radios are a right pain in the arse to use (not to mention the large pauses when the signal drops out - DAB dies for a second and comes back, internet radio 30 seconds). The Pure rugby ball thing from a few years back was a step in the right direction, and something with the UK Radio Player on (also leveraging FM and DAB), coupled with Bluetooth/Chromecast/AirPlay could be a killer set. Alas that would probably be too expensive to be competitive.
Maybe it's i'm one of the few people who actually bothers to put a proper DAB aerial on their car, In South central Hampshire near Southampton I get the Bournemouth and Sussex multiplexes nullifying each other on 11b. I need to block off the side of the aerial needed to recieve one of the other. I also get Berkshire loud and clear as well as Hampshire..
Going slightly OT...
Indeed, I do too. In fact I went so far as to have a JVC HAL-2 fitted on my old Ford Focus which meant drilling a new hole at the back of the car as I couldn't find an aerial suitable to go on the front of the roof.
I had a JVC HAL-2 fitted on my Vauxhall when I replaced the car. Although for some reason, and it may be that the aerial lead is picking up interference somewhere in the car, or perhaps that my new radio (Pioneer DEH-8500DAB compared with a Sony DAB6650) is far less sensitive, the signal is not quite as amazing as before.
However, my point is that having had mobile and indoor DAB reception for many years I can pretty much pin down where significant gaps are (or were) and how on some multiplexes they have been improved by certain transmitters. E.g. BBC 12B in East Grinstead. Despite plans to use Crawley for BBC 12B as well, I don't think any other transmitter would adequately cover parts of the area and therefore reception on the enlarged Sussex 10B will potentially be poor in East Grinstead and surrounds despite plans for it to be included on the Ofcom proposals.
Despite plans to use Crawley for BBC 12B as well, I don't think any other transmitter would adequately cover parts of the area and therefore reception on the enlarged Sussex 10B will potentially be poor in East Grinstead and surrounds despite plans for it to be included on the Ofcom proposals.
Whereas the use of Crawley does mean that the Sussex mux will almost certainly come booming across much of East Surrey, which although obviously outside the intended area of the Sussex mux, does mean this area should get access to what has become of its heritage commercial station, Heart Sussex & Surrey, for the first time on DAB.
Whereas the use of Crawley does mean that the Sussex mux will almost certainly come booming across much of East Surrey, which although obviously outside the intended area of the Sussex mux, does mean this area should get access to what has become of its heritage commercial station, Heart Sussex & Surrey, for the first time on DAB.
Quite possibly. The roof of the Sandman Signature hotel at Hazelwick is pretty high but it depends how the aerial(s) are configured. I would bet Reigate would beat it considerably in terms of coverage, especially with CP/Croydon behind it. Therefore, I don't think Sussex on 10B will boom in to Surrey as much as the other way around (even with Midhurst off to the west).
However, ex Radio Mercury territory should be reasonably covered nonetheless. That said, really it was a funny TSA defined more by the coverage of Reigate than anything else. I'd say the coverage of Surrey on 10C is far more appropriate at a county level (once it reaches Woldingham) than Mercury was.
Quite possibly. The roof of the Sandman Signature hotel at Hazelwick is pretty high but it depends how the aerial(s) are configured. I would bet Reigate would beat it considerably in terms of coverage, especially with CP/Croydon behind it. Therefore, I don't think Sussex on 10B will boom in to Surrey as much as the other way around (even with Midhurst off to the west).
However, ex Radio Mercury territory should be reasonably covered nonetheless. That said, really it was a funny TSA defined more by the coverage of Reigate than anything else. I'd say the coverage of Surrey on 10C is far more appropriate at a county level (once it reaches Woldingham) than Mercury was.
But won't that only matter if North Sussex has different local ads and traffic from South Sussex, perhaps they are now the same?
So if the Heart output on Reigate and Guildford is the greater London output which has London ads, there are no need for opt outs for local ads and traffic in Surrey?
With the local muxes there are some overlap and some changed editorial areas of stations?
But won't that only matter if North Sussex has different local ads and traffic from South Sussex, perhaps they are now the same?
So if the Heart output on Reigate and Guildford is the greater London output which has London ads, there are no need for opt outs for local ads and traffic in Surrey?
With the local muxes there are some overlap and some changed editorial areas of stations?
The only Heart on DAB in Surrey at the moment is the 106.2 version that's transmitted across the county via the London 1 mux. I checked Heart on 102.7 FM the other day, and the travel news seemed to be all about the A27, so it must only be the adverts that differ between the former Mercury and Southern FM areas. I'm not sure whether the changed broadcast areas that local DAB has brought about has had much effect on stations' output, for example whether Eagle now includes local info that pertains to East Surrey - probably not?
The only Heart on DAB in Surrey at the moment is the 106.2 version that's transmitted across the county via the London 1 mux. I checked Heart on 102.7 FM the other day, and the travel news seemed to be all about the A27, so it must only be the adverts that differ between the former Mercury and Southern FM areas. I'm not sure whether the changed broadcast areas that local DAB has brought about has had much effect on stations' output, for example whether Eagle now includes local info that pertains to East Surrey - probably not?
I have been listening to Eagle quite a bit since Surrey DAB went live and I'd say they really don't cover anything east of Leatherhead/Dorking. Certainly not heard anything Reigate way unless it's mentioning tailbacks on the M25. Similarly news bulletins don't really cover the east of the county either.
Heart on London I does cover the majority of the county but not all. It is mostly London centric despite being included on Guildford and Reigate.
Heart Sussex realistically should cover up to the Sussex / Surrey border, despite being broadcast from Reigate on FM as this is more in alignment with county borders. It does leave East Surrey in ex Mercury FM territory in a bit of a gap. Mercury seemed pretty Crawley/Reigate centric rather than talking about much else in East Surrey back in the day.
As it's not possible to ad-split on the same multiplex from different transmitters, and the Sussex DAB multiplex not expected to cover all of East Surrey officially (e.g. Tandridge / Oxted area), then post FM -> DAB switchover travel news for the area on Heart Sussex seems irrelevant.
I can't see a Surrey Heart being created and added to Surrey 10C DAB. This does mean that East Surrey is poorly served for commercial radio travel news at a local level with Heart London generally concentrating on roads within the M25. There is no local station for East Surrey on DAB other than Redstone. If SuSy radio ends up on DAB then that would be the next best to BBC Surrey for local news and travel.
Really though, if you want proper travel news in Surrey, listen to BBC Surrey. Similarly BBC Sussex in that county. Same for news.
I'm not really bothered that East Surrey will miss out on a big name commercial station in a post switchover DAB world. Perhaps Eagle will pick up more whole county news and travel at that point (if they even exist!) Horley is essentially being sucked in to Crawley. Reigate/Redhill is well served by community radio. Caterham is virtually London. It's only really backwater east-Tandridge district that misses out.
It did strike me how brief and lacking in depth the Heart Sussex travel bulletin was, compared to what I'm more used to from BBC Surrey. I agree that, in future, it would be logical to reorganise the area's commercial stations along county lines, so Heart in Sussex and Eagle extending to cover the whole of Surrey, since that is the way the multiplexes are being set up. Although I've often felt that the Reigate/Redhill area identifies more with Crawley/Horsham/East Grinstead than with places to the west of Surrey, so the Radio Mercury area did seem to make some sense in a way.
If the 'mini-muxes' get going, maybe Susy might want go on one of those, and perhaps could be joined by Redstone who are mainly interested in covering the east of the county and would probably be able to cut costs that way. Although they say their editorial focus is East Surrey and Crawley, I have heard them covering travel problems from right across Surrey.
At risk of going seriously OT...
I agree with you Robert, having lived, worked and socialised in most parts of Mercury's service area I know what you mean by identification. I grew up with Mercury.
I think a mini mux would suit SuSy both in terms of ethos, locality, budget and their excellent TX position vantage. However if they can financially find a way on to MuxCo Surrey I would be delighted for them (even though I don't listen - Merdidian would be my primary choice of FM based community radio) and think it would be a genuinely good thing for local radio in East Surrey. But despite Trash Can somehow affording it, I guess it must be very expensive.
I think a mini mux would suit SuSy both in terms of ethos, locality, budget and their excellent TX position vantage. However if they can financially find a way on to MuxCo Surrey I would be delighted for them (even though I don't listen - Merdidian would be my primary choice of FM based community radio) and think it would be a genuinely good thing for local radio in East Surrey. But despite Trash Can somehow affording it, I guess it must be very expensive.
The advantage of going on the DAB mux will be a digital commercial licence so will not have the ad restrictions of the FM community licence or the expense of a local news service of a FM commercial licence. But it may be that Susy might not be able to raise the extra advertising needed to pay to go on the Surrey mux with all the local competition. Not sure how Redstone and Trashcan are funding the DAB transmissions or if they might go again for the FM licences to be advertised later in 2015 as Brooklands, Stag (Surrey uni) and radio Wey are also interested in the very limited number of FM frequencies left in greater London?
On a different but (I thought) related theme... where are we with merging multiplexes and changing frequencies?
I note that (eg) Cambs/Peterborough and Northants/HBB are still listed on different frequencies to their would-be partners - but I thought some of the power increases etc were dependent on rejigging the map and frequencies?
Doesn't that need to be part of the plan too?
The mux frequency changes will need to be properly advertised (as with the Freeview rescans) and listeners prepared as many will have to do full rescans rather than partial rescans on all sets. If done badly could leave a lot of frustrated DAB users in the following areas (from Wohnort site)
Humberside from Block 11B to 10D
Liverpool from Block 11B to 10C
Manchester from Block 11C to 12C
Norwich from Block 11B to 10B
Plymouth from Block 12A to 12D
Sussex Coast expanded to cover the whole county and migrating from Block 11B to 10B
West Wiltshire from Block 12D to 10D
If the frequency changes are done well will help improve reception and potentially boost DAB awareness.
As mentioned might allow low power city centre mini muxes to reuse 11C in Manchester and 11B in Liverpool and Brighton providing they do not interfere with other muxes?
I think you overestimate their enthusiasm for using broadband for radio reception, obviously some use it but many prefer to a radio receiving off air and obviously that is essential for the vast majority if they want to listen in the car.
I have two radios that can receive off broadband as well as several other devices but I can probably count on one hand the number of times that I have done so. I have never noticed friends doing so either.
I don't think it's particularly popular, but someone must be listening to radio through their smart phone - there are enough broadcaster-provided and independent radio apps for iOS and Android (and quite a few even for Windows phones!). They wouldn't bother if no one listened.
I don't listen much via 3G, but I use it a lot via WiFi. At home (and other places where I have WiFi access) it's better than a portable or pocket radio in almost every way. Station choice, signal reliability, sound quality (through headphones or docked - obviously not through the built-in speaker!), interface, extra features and info.
I occasionally listen to internet radio using my phone. But, by heck, it is a battery killer so only as a last resort.
I've listened to Radio 4 on my phone's built-in speaker via WiFi for six hours non-stop. Not sure how much battery was left at the end, but it was more than 10%.
I've listened to Radio 4 on my phone's built-in speaker via WiFi for six hours non-stop. Not sure how much battery was left at the end, but it was more than 10%.
.
Yes, but try the same via 3 or 4G while moving about (I mean from one cell area to another, to another...) and the consumption will be considerably higher
Yes, but try the same via 3 or 4G while moving about (I mean from one cell area to another, to another...) and the consumption will be considerably higher
I'm not about to try that, thanks
This tangent started when HT said there would be howls of protest in rural areas when FM was switched off, kev said most people in rural areas would get significantly better service (more stations), and I said I didn't think many would find it particularly exciting - given a) the majority of digital listening is to the simulcasts of analogue stations, and b) people who want more choice already have it available if they want - far more choice then they'll ever get from DAB.
The few who lose something will moan. The many who get more might not be that excited. If they think anything at all, they'll wonder why they had to wait so long - the world of broadcast infrastructure roll-out almost unavoidably moving more slowly than the other technology that most people use daily.
Comments
The plan is more or less there for national radio (certainly BBC).
This roll-out - and the concern I expressed - is about the local muxes.
When you say "till DAB matches FM", in this local plan that refers only to the heritage ILR service. BBC locals or smaller ILRs who cover a different patch will have their area changed accordingly. And in the case of some small ILRs, I'm not convinced that migration is likely to be viable (eg if you're Dee in Chester, is it worth you blasting out across Merseyside?)
The backups of satellite and Freeview won't be accessible to most local stations (although the BBC ones are slowly going on Freeview), and although online solutions will grow in viability, they may not fill the mobile gap in these rural areas, some of which are still trogging along on 2G (if they're lucky).
BBC National DAB obvious has it's limits at present but it's known that in the event of DSO that it will need to extend it's coverage.
Digital 1 already exceeds Classic FM coverage by some margin.
Once the Local DAB roll out is complete it should have better coverage than the Heritage ILR stations, although there will be a few areas (e.g. Buxton) where the BBC can't switch over due to lack of BBC LR coverage - however these will probably be covered by any further BBC rollout
In the end these remote rural communities should end up with a significantly better proposition than before - i.e. BBC Radio 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Live, Local replaced with BBC National DAB and Local DAB, and in many cases D1 National too.
I note that (eg) Cambs/Peterborough and Northants/HBB are still listed on different frequencies to their would-be partners - but I thought some of the power increases etc were dependent on rejigging the map and frequencies?
Doesn't that need to be part of the plan too?
Quite right. Currently eight of the eleven stations on Manchester are FM/AM simulcasts, only Abs 90's, The Hits and Heat are digital only and these are all owned by Bauer. Only when the multiplex first started were there several digital only stations, indeed a couple of the Manchester FM licences didn't come on air until 2006 and 2008.
MXR North West offered a bit of an opportunity but ended up with identikit stations to the local muxes. As there has since been further consolidation in the radio industry, I can see the potential for a mini-regional mux to cover the population centres of Liverpool, South Lancs, North Cheshire and Greater Manchester, perhaps utilising Winter Hill, St. John's Beacon and Sunley Tower only to keep costs to a minumum. If London can support three multiplexes, surely the second biggest UK conurbation can support a second tier?
3rd biggest conurbation, West Midlands is 2nd, just, source Wikipedia comparing sizes of the two metropolitan counties.
Not that it really matters but the North West has a population of 7,052,177, compared to 5,601,847 in the West Midlands.
The Manchester multiplex is due to move frequency so I wonder if Ofcom will consider (re)advertising the current/old frequency for a second local multiplex with less coverage area?
There are the small scale DAB multiplexs on the horizon so I wonder if they will take up the slack?
But a lot of folks still waiting for a decent DAB signal (and who, as you say, may never get D1) have had Broadband for years and have got / are getting fibre. Finally getting 20 stations on DAB isn't going to seem that exciting. Especially when so many people stick to R2+4
Cheers,
David.
I think you overestimate their enthusiasm for using broadband for radio reception, obviously some use it but many prefer to a radio receiving off air and obviously that is essential for the vast majority if they want to listen in the car.
I have two radios that can receive off broadband as well as several other devices but I can probably count on one hand the number of times that I have done so. I have never noticed friends doing so either.
Maybe it's i'm one of the few people who actually bothers to put a proper DAB aerial on their car, In South central Hampshire near Southampton I get the Bournemouth and Sussex multiplexes nullifying each other on 11b. I need to block off the side of the aerial needed to recieve one of the other. I also get Berkshire loud and clear as well as Hampshire.
The only thing annoying about DAB ( apart from the bitrates too low for MP2)is you can tell when you drive by a building running those Ethernet home plugs ( which are probably technically illegal) and it momentarily interferes with your DAB reception as you pass by.
I've driven though many supposed DAB dead zones of the map, BBC does pretty well, D1 drops out more, it's a little more patchy but it's normally not gone for long.
My experience is reception is excellent, the quality currently is crap, it was good about 10 -15 years ago.
I know, I'm one of them, and I live in one of the largest 10 conurbations in the country!
Indeed - part of that has been down to the UI in the past - lets face it most internet radios are a right pain in the arse to use (not to mention the large pauses when the signal drops out - DAB dies for a second and comes back, internet radio 30 seconds). The Pure rugby ball thing from a few years back was a step in the right direction, and something with the UK Radio Player on (also leveraging FM and DAB), coupled with Bluetooth/Chromecast/AirPlay could be a killer set. Alas that would probably be too expensive to be competitive.
Going slightly OT...
Indeed, I do too. In fact I went so far as to have a JVC HAL-2 fitted on my old Ford Focus which meant drilling a new hole at the back of the car as I couldn't find an aerial suitable to go on the front of the roof.
I had a JVC HAL-2 fitted on my Vauxhall when I replaced the car. Although for some reason, and it may be that the aerial lead is picking up interference somewhere in the car, or perhaps that my new radio (Pioneer DEH-8500DAB compared with a Sony DAB6650) is far less sensitive, the signal is not quite as amazing as before.
However, my point is that having had mobile and indoor DAB reception for many years I can pretty much pin down where significant gaps are (or were) and how on some multiplexes they have been improved by certain transmitters. E.g. BBC 12B in East Grinstead. Despite plans to use Crawley for BBC 12B as well, I don't think any other transmitter would adequately cover parts of the area and therefore reception on the enlarged Sussex 10B will potentially be poor in East Grinstead and surrounds despite plans for it to be included on the Ofcom proposals.
Quite possibly. The roof of the Sandman Signature hotel at Hazelwick is pretty high but it depends how the aerial(s) are configured. I would bet Reigate would beat it considerably in terms of coverage, especially with CP/Croydon behind it. Therefore, I don't think Sussex on 10B will boom in to Surrey as much as the other way around (even with Midhurst off to the west).
However, ex Radio Mercury territory should be reasonably covered nonetheless. That said, really it was a funny TSA defined more by the coverage of Reigate than anything else. I'd say the coverage of Surrey on 10C is far more appropriate at a county level (once it reaches Woldingham) than Mercury was.
So if the Heart output on Reigate and Guildford is the greater London output which has London ads, there are no need for opt outs for local ads and traffic in Surrey?
With the local muxes there are some overlap and some changed editorial areas of stations?
I have been listening to Eagle quite a bit since Surrey DAB went live and I'd say they really don't cover anything east of Leatherhead/Dorking. Certainly not heard anything Reigate way unless it's mentioning tailbacks on the M25. Similarly news bulletins don't really cover the east of the county either.
Heart on London I does cover the majority of the county but not all. It is mostly London centric despite being included on Guildford and Reigate.
Heart Sussex realistically should cover up to the Sussex / Surrey border, despite being broadcast from Reigate on FM as this is more in alignment with county borders. It does leave East Surrey in ex Mercury FM territory in a bit of a gap. Mercury seemed pretty Crawley/Reigate centric rather than talking about much else in East Surrey back in the day.
As it's not possible to ad-split on the same multiplex from different transmitters, and the Sussex DAB multiplex not expected to cover all of East Surrey officially (e.g. Tandridge / Oxted area), then post FM -> DAB switchover travel news for the area on Heart Sussex seems irrelevant.
I can't see a Surrey Heart being created and added to Surrey 10C DAB. This does mean that East Surrey is poorly served for commercial radio travel news at a local level with Heart London generally concentrating on roads within the M25. There is no local station for East Surrey on DAB other than Redstone. If SuSy radio ends up on DAB then that would be the next best to BBC Surrey for local news and travel.
Really though, if you want proper travel news in Surrey, listen to BBC Surrey. Similarly BBC Sussex in that county. Same for news.
I'm not really bothered that East Surrey will miss out on a big name commercial station in a post switchover DAB world. Perhaps Eagle will pick up more whole county news and travel at that point (if they even exist!) Horley is essentially being sucked in to Crawley. Reigate/Redhill is well served by community radio. Caterham is virtually London. It's only really backwater east-Tandridge district that misses out.
If the 'mini-muxes' get going, maybe Susy might want go on one of those, and perhaps could be joined by Redstone who are mainly interested in covering the east of the county and would probably be able to cut costs that way. Although they say their editorial focus is East Surrey and Crawley, I have heard them covering travel problems from right across Surrey.
I agree with you Robert, having lived, worked and socialised in most parts of Mercury's service area I know what you mean by identification. I grew up with Mercury.
I think a mini mux would suit SuSy both in terms of ethos, locality, budget and their excellent TX position vantage. However if they can financially find a way on to MuxCo Surrey I would be delighted for them (even though I don't listen - Merdidian would be my primary choice of FM based community radio) and think it would be a genuinely good thing for local radio in East Surrey. But despite Trash Can somehow affording it, I guess it must be very expensive.
As mentioned might allow low power city centre mini muxes to reuse 11C in Manchester and 11B in Liverpool and Brighton providing they do not interfere with other muxes?
I don't think it's particularly popular, but someone must be listening to radio through their smart phone - there are enough broadcaster-provided and independent radio apps for iOS and Android (and quite a few even for Windows phones!). They wouldn't bother if no one listened.
I don't listen much via 3G, but I use it a lot via WiFi. At home (and other places where I have WiFi access) it's better than a portable or pocket radio in almost every way. Station choice, signal reliability, sound quality (through headphones or docked - obviously not through the built-in speaker!), interface, extra features and info.
Cheers,
David.
Cheers,
David.
Yes, but try the same via 3 or 4G while moving about (I mean from one cell area to another, to another...) and the consumption will be considerably higher
This tangent started when HT said there would be howls of protest in rural areas when FM was switched off, kev said most people in rural areas would get significantly better service (more stations), and I said I didn't think many would find it particularly exciting - given a) the majority of digital listening is to the simulcasts of analogue stations, and b) people who want more choice already have it available if they want - far more choice then they'll ever get from DAB.
The few who lose something will moan. The many who get more might not be that excited. If they think anything at all, they'll wonder why they had to wait so long - the world of broadcast infrastructure roll-out almost unavoidably moving more slowly than the other technology that most people use daily.
Cheers,
David.