France

[FR] Heading for Digital Audio

IRIS 1998-4:1/23

Bertrand Delcros

Radio France

Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), although still in its experimental stage, will necessarily grow. The EBU, aware of this trend, has set up an internal organisation named World DAB.

In France, digital radio is doing its utmost to attract listeners. The legal framework is the Law of 10 April 1996 on experimentation in the field of information technology and services (loi du 10 avril 1996 relative aux expérimentations dans le domaine des technologies et services de l'information) and the Law of 30 September 1986 on the freedom of communication (loi du 30 septembre 1986 relative à la liberté de communication). In 1997, a first experiment was launched in the Paris region. In a decision of 10 February 1998, the Conseil supérieur de l'Audiovisuel (the French media authority) announced the extension of this experiment to Lyon, Marseille, Nantes and Toulouse. This will be done by an invitation for applications to handle two sections, one of which could be on offer to the public sector and the other to private radios.