Ford Ennals distances himself from target set by government two years ago, but says move will take place in 'near future'
The executive in charge of digital radio switchover today distanced himself from the 2015 target date set two years ago and apologised for any confusion it may have caused among listeners.
Ford Ennals, the chief executive of Digital Radio UK, said he would no longer publicly refer to the 2015 date for switching off most FM stations set by Lord Carter's Digital Britain report.
The target to place all Britain's major networks on digital radio only was always seen as an ambitious one and is now viewed as increasingly unlikely after digital radio takeup failed to match early forecasts.
Ennals's comments at a digital radio conference on Tuesday follow consumer group concerns that listeners were being bullied into trading up their analogue radios for digital ones by the prospect of an early switchover and their sets becoming redundant.
"I do think there has been some confusion about the status of 2015, and if we have in any way contributed to the confusion about that we would apologise," Ennals told the Westminster forum on the future of digital radio in central London. "I don't think there is a need to have a date and we won't be communicating a date."
However, Ennals said he remained "confident" that switchover would happen in the "near future" and said it was feasible that it still might take place by 2015.
About �100m will be required to update the digital audio broadcasting (DAB) transmitter network to match the coverage currently provided by FM.
It remains to be seen how this will be funded, with commercial radio looking to the BBC to pick up the tab, and the BBC grappling with cuts of 20% to its budget.
Andrew Harrison, the chief executive of commercial radio trade body, the Radio Centre, said DAB radio currently reached less than 80% of the UK population and was a "long way short of what is required".
"Clearly if people can't receive digital radio at all, or if the signal is patchy, then any speculation about a digital future is completely fanciful," said Harrison.
"If we can resolve the coverage [issue] then I firmly believe we will begin to see acceleration in consumer take-up over the next few years."
Leen Petre, chair of the Consumer Expert Group on digital switchover which warned the industry not to "bully" or "scare" consumers into paying for the new technology, said DAB coverage was "still a cheese with big holes in it".
Mark Friend, the BBC's controller, multiplatform and interactive, said the BBC was committed to funding the rollout of its national DAB coverage to 93% of the country by the end of this year.
He said it would look to up it to 97% over the following 12 months "as long as we can get the right terms and the right price with [transmission business] Arqiva and others".
But there remains big question marks over local DAB coverage, and Friend warned that a further funding commitment from the BBC "has to offer good value for money".
Mark Rock, the founder and chief executive of sound-sharing application Audioboo, was scathing about the industry's moves towards digital switchover and the decision to base principally around DAB radio.
"Radio seems to be the only industry that is moving towards digital with more expensive technology that is inferior quality," said Rock, comparing it to other media industries who he said had switched to digital because it offered either "reduced cost" or "better quality".
Opinion has long been split on the virtues - or otherwise - of DAB. To its proponents it offers vastly increased capacity for new channels, interactivity and ease of use. To its detractors, its sound quality is not as good as FM and it is already out of date.
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/apr/05/digital-radio-switchover-target
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