Swiss Review 3/2018

16 Swiss Review / May 2018 / No.3 Society scription costs around 14,000 Swiss francs a year compared with 100,000 Swiss francs for a large operator such as Romandie Médias SA, which launched the first private DAB cover- age in French-speaking Switzerland in 2014. A national issue Switzerland nowhas 3.5millionDAB- equipped devices, one million of which are in vehicles and this technol- ogy is an issue of national importance. The Swiss Confederation is support- ing DAB through information cam- paigns and by funding for radio sta- tions, which totalled 8 million Swiss francs in 2017, says René Wehrlin, Head of Digital Radio and Television at the Federal Office of Communica- tions (OFCOM). “FMradio reception is obsolete. DAB increases access to the airwaves for radio stations and allows themto use awide range of digital ser- vices,” he remarks. With better audio quality and lower costs, OFCOM be- lieves there are plenty of arguments in favour of this new technology. The federal government has said that the FM network will be aban- doned in favour of DAB by 2024, and measures to enable this transition are already under way. In a nutshell, the government will not grant any new li- cences for analogue FM stations and will support all radio stationswith the switchover to digital broadcasting. For a non-commercial radio station broadcasting via Digris, this means that 80% of the subscription charges to the company’s DAB service aremet by OFCOM. Radio stations can also re- ceive financial support for the instal- lation of digital studios. The “No Bil- lag” initiative has highlighted the role of public support for cultural and lo- cal radio stations, according to the head of a small community station mentioned below. Coverage in all tunnels The change in radio broadcasting also affects the roads, and the Federal Roads Office plans to provide out- standing coverage nationwide for the one million cars fitted with DAB re- ceivers. Eventually all tunnels longer than 300 metres – first on the motor- ways and then on the cantonal roads – will be equipped with transmitters. OFCOM indicates that the number will increase by 50% overall by 2019. “This policy ismainly being carried out for safety reasons because in the event of a crisis situation the bandwidth dedicated to smartphones connected to radio via internet would soon be used up, while radio always remains accessible,” stresses René Wehrlin. Back to small alternative radio sta- tions which see access to the airwaves via DAB as a mark of recognition and a symbolic step. Radio Vostok, a com- munity station in Geneva, only broad- cast on theweb. One of Digris’s clients since 2015, it has seen its listening fig- ures double. “We decided to increase live broadcasting timewhichhas risen from one to 12 hours a week,” says a satisfied Charles Menger, co-founder and permanent member of staff at Ra- dio Vostok. Listeners in Geneva or Berne now have access to a wide array of stations broadcasting inDAB (45 inGeneva) on their radios. However, tests carried out in an apart- ment show that the reception of pro- grammes broadcast by Digris seems less stable than that of commercial or public radio. “It’s todowith the output anddistance of the transmitters,” says OFCOM. The CEO of Digris responds that he plans to increase the compa- ny’s broadcasting capability. Restricted internet? Thomas Gilgen believes a commercial battle is taking place behind the scenes of this technical revolution be- tween public service broadcasting and major groups, and between DAB and the internet. “Smartphone manufac- turers are currently refusing to inte- grate DAB reception capability into their devices despite computer chips making this possible. Unless political action is taken, within ten years every car and home will only receive inter- net radio via a smartphone and the in- ternet industry will take control of ra- dio frequency in Switzerland,” he says. The issue is the “neutrality” of the internet, provision of which varies de- pending on connection quality and re- quires a contract with a service pro- vider, whereas Billag funds unre- stricted access to radio stations. René Wehrlin is aware of these issues but is not concerned about DAB being ousted by theweb because he believes smartphone manufacturers and the major operators only have a limited interest in radio. Why is that? “It does not generate enough revenue,” he con- cludes. DAB is 18 radio stations on a single frequency Digital Audio Broadcasting technology enables channels to be packed into a single frequency where FM stations need space between frequencies to work. OFCOM notes that seven DAB frequencies are available to radio stations in Switzerland. Each of them can accommodate 18 stations which means scope for 126 channels in total. However, inside a home DAB is less attractive than FM because a radio requires the whole of the digital signal to work, unlike FM, which may be affected by interference but is still received. “At home, people will opt for internet radio via WiFi,” is the verdict of René Wehrlin, Head of Digital Radio at OFCOM.