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back to article Lords: Analogue radio must die

Digital radio isn't great and the public doesn't want it, but you're going to get it anyway. So recommends the House of Lords Communications Committee today. 90 per cent of the UK listens to radio, and 94 per cent of listeners are happy with what they've got. The Lords accept most of the points made by critics of DAB and the …

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  1. TeeCee Gold badge
    FAIL

    Oh, really?

    "To go back on this policy now would risk turning confusion into an utter shambles"

    @The house of Lords: Try sticking your fucking heads out of the window and having a look outside once in a while. In the real world an "utter shambles" would be an improvement on the current situation.

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  2. Anonymous Coward
    Dead Vulture

    DAB sounds awful

    I can't stand the sound quality from DAB, the bit rates are terrible and all the government are trying to do if free up bandwidth that they can sell.

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    1. Glyn 2
      Reply Icon

      sell

      To whom are they going to sell the bandwidth to, is the question?

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  3. Mal Franks

    FM going no skin off my nose

    been a few years since there was anything I'd want to listen to live on FM.

    The clock radio is DAB and so I can listen to 6 Music (til the feckers close it down) and at the computer I use iPlayer for the few Radio 4 shows I want to hear.

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  4. TeraTelnet
    Boffin

    Northern Ireland poorly served by DAB

    There's also the small point that Northern Ireland's only non-BBC multiplex carries about six or seven commercial stations and that's it. Not exactly the hundreds of channels that are touted elsewhere.

    Plus the Beeb is having to add seven new transmitters in order to get a half-decent signal out for their channels. The commerical mux is also going to have to expand the transmitter network to improve coverage and signal strength.

    I'm also told that the fact that the Republic is still using Band 3 for some of its analogue television signals causes difficulties with DAB transmission in Northern Ireland, so matters may not improve until the South switches that off.

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  5. Mike H.
    Thumb Down

    Dab or Internet?

    Why on earth would I be interested in Dab Radio at home or perhaps even on the move when there is Internet radio already available and a far greater choice of stations?

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Internet?

      Sounds like a good idea, were it not for the fact that 3G coverage is worse than DAB coverage. When I'm out and about driving, walking, running or cycling I find FM does the job just fine. DAB or 3G on the other hand uses more power and the coverage is patchy at best.

      Again it has to be said: FM ain't broke, so why are we trying to fix it.

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  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wouldn't it be nice if...

    ...we could have some kind of elected representatives to tell the government that we don't want digital radio, and that we prefer to keep analogue radio?

    Oh wait, they're called MPs and they were all bribed, suborned, or browbeaten by the government long ago.

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  7. Chris_B

    Pirate Radio?

    I can see a lot of pirate radios popping up again to fill the FM void.

    Long live Radio Caroline

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  8. Dan 55 Silver badge
    FAIL

    "too much has been invested by the public in DAB"

    The Lords are still going about this the wrong way around. If they want to upgrade the nation there should be mandatory DAB/DAB+/FM sets and firmware updates for older DAB sets to turn them into DAB+, then a switch should be flicked somewhere in between 2015 and 2020 in transmitters to make DAB+ the standard.

    If it's so easy to get right, how do they manage to get it so wrong?

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  9. Simon B
    FAIL

    DAB = What signal??!

    I've a portable DAB player, it's crap! signal keeps getting lost, analogue works fine. DABS lost with me.

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  10. mikeyt

    e-petition

    the e-petition is here http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/VHFvsDAB/

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