Norway first to start switching off FM radio

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Norway first to start switching off FM radio

Reuters in Oslo
Thursday 5 January 2017 16.25 GMT

Norway will next week become the first nation to start switching off its FM radio network, in a risky and unpopular leap to digital technology that will be closely watched by other countries considering whether to follow suit.

Critics say the government is rushing the move and fear many people may miss emergency alerts that until now have been broadcast via FM radio. Of particular concern are the 2m cars on Norway’s roads that are not equipped with digital audio broadcasting (DAB) receivers, they say.

Sixty-six per cent of Norwegians oppose switching off FM, 17% are in favour and the rest are undecided, according to an opinion poll published by the daily Dagbladet last month.

Nevertheless, parliament has given the final go-ahead for the move, swayed by the fact that digital networks can carry more channels.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/05/norway-first-to-start-switching-off-fm-radio

[LisaM]

1. That was the argument they used in the US to get rid of analog TV signals.

I was against that move, too. I think it does prevent emergency broadcasting. When the signal changed, we stopped being able to get any kind of signal up at my SO's family's cabin, which is on an island in Washington State. We'd previously been able to pick up a couple over the air channels (we rarely watched TV up there). The assurance was that local stations would be available. So, I bought a small new TV, took it up there, we got absolutely nothing. I went and bought an expensive antenna. We got three channels, all shopping channels and two of them in Chinese. I called the antenna company and he plugged the zip code into his computer and said yep, you'll never get any digital channels over the air because it would have to essentially travel through rocks.

So in other words (as I'd suspected) getting rid of analog meant you had to subscribe to cable or digital in order to get stations. The airwaves are still owned by the public but I guess the argument is that digital doesn't travel over airwaves.

I think they should keep their FM, to summarize my meandering point.

[madaboutharry]

2. People will feel the need to buy

a portable digital radio for their car. Someone always ends up making some money when things change.

[2naSalit]

3. Without free FM

I won't have any entertainment or news (for whatever that's worth anymore.)

[rurallib]

4. not sure I understand the reasoning for it - just to allow more stations?

but you have to have special equipment? Doesn't quite make sense especially in cars to me.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. More stations, and/or to sell off the frequencies that are freed up

Forcing the pace of it is very annoying - pushing the costs of conversion onto the public. Nearly all cars in the UK are now sold with digital radios, so a switchover in, say, 15 years time, might be OK, I think. But the government has talked about forcing it through much faster than that: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_radio_in_the_United_Kingdom#Analogue_switch-over

[rurallib]

6. thanks