Nantes tests out digital radio

SUMMER EXPERIMENT COULD BE FIRST STEP TO A FULL DIGITAL SWITCHOVER - BUT MOVE IS CONTROVERSIAL AND WILL TAKE YEARS NANTES has become the first French town to launch an experiment into

digital radio - more than six months behind schedule. A dozen stations in the Loire-Atlantique capital are broadcasting digitally from now until August as a pilot ahead of what broadcasting

authorities hope will be a national roll-out of the new technology. The _Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel_ had planned pilot schemes for Paris, Marseille and Nice last autumn but they

were postponed due to disagreements within the broadcasting industry over the new technology. The broadcasting watchdog says it is "resolute" that it will press ahead with the

digital radio move. Digital radio allows more stations to broadcast in any given area and allows broadcasters to provide listeners with extra information on a visual display such as song

details, traffic and weather. To listen you need to buy a digital radio. The first models have gone on sale in Nantes at about €100. No official switchover date has been set by the CSA for

switching off the FM signal, although there is some talk in the industry of 2016-2018. Some commercial radio groups are wary about the digital move - which will open up the business to new

competitors while also requiring stations to pay for transmission on two platforms: analogue and digital. France is using a digital technology called T-DMB, which is different from the DAB

used in the UK and the DAB+ in Switzerland. This means that not all receivers will work overseas, although some new models are compatible with more than one type of digital technology.

RELATED STORIES: Digital radio roll-out begins Broadcasting bill passed - finally Photo: jeff gynane - Fotolia.com