Ofcom sets digital deadline

EVERY home in the UK should be able to tune in to digital radio from 2007, the industry regulator, Ofcom, said yesterday. Currently, more than one in ten people, mainly in rural areas, has no access to digital radio broadcasts, which offer more stations and better sound quality than analogue services.

New proposals from Ofcom will allow for up to 74 existing local FM and AM analogue services, all BBC local and regional stations, and stations accounting for 95 per cent of commercial radio listening to move to digital audio broadcast (DAB) technology.

DAB users already receive as many as 50 channels in urban areas and digital radio is also available through digital television and the internet.

However, Ofcom said that DAB was the only platform to offer digital radio at home and on portable radios, as well as providing free-to-air services. "It is, therefore, important that Ofcom puts in place the conditions to enable DAB digital radio to expand and thrive," said chief executive Stephen Carter.

There were no plans to switch off the analogue radio signal, he added, but it has mapped out its timetable for switching off the analogue television signal, which will be phased out by 2012.