The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a consultation paper titled 'Formulating a Digital Radio Broadcast Policy for Private Radio Broadcasters.' The consultation paper is to enable an ecosystem where all the analogue radio signals can be digitised. In India, the analogue terrestrial radio broadcast is carried out in medium wave (MW) (526-1606 KHz), Short Wave (SW) (6-22 MHz), and VHF-II (88-108 MHz) spectrum bands. VFH-II is popularly known as the FM band in India.
All the private sector radio broadcasters in India utilise the FM bands to transmit programs. Now, TRAI is looking for recommendations on how a digital radio broadcast policy can be made for private radio broadcasters.
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In a release, TRAI explained, "The major advantage of Digital Radio broadcasting is capability of broadcasting three to four channels on a single frequency carrier, while ensuring excellent quality of audio for all the channels, whereas in the analogue mode only one channel broadcasting is possible on a frequency carrier."
It is worth noting that All India Radio (AIR) is already working on digitising its analogue MW and SW radio broadcast network and replacing its existing 38 analogue transmitters with digital transmitters. TRAI has emphasised that the government needs to come out with a detailed policy framework for Digital Radio Broadcasting in India.
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The digital radio broadcasting is where India is headed and policies around the same will be released in the future. TRAI has released this consultation paper after receiving a request for formulating a digital radio broadcast policy from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on April 23, 2024.
Comments to this consultation paper will be accepted till October 28, 2024 and counter comments can be submitted till November 11, 2024.
