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El Reg reports
With digital reaching its audience targets, the government set a 2017 date for the death of analogue FM radio in [Norway].
[...]However, the Norwegian Local Radio Association disputes the communications ministry's figure, pointing instead to Norwegian Government Statistical Bureau data that "listening to DAB radio is presently limited to 19% on a daily basis."
In an e-mail sent to Vulture South [El Reg's Australian operation], the association says the Minister of Culture's announcement swept up DVB-T and Internet radio to claim that "digital listening" had hit the 50 per cent target that triggers an FM switch-off.
The association also notes that an all-DAB nation would provide a lot less service to motoring tourists without digital radios in their cars. "This proposed change means that most visitors will not be able to listen to national channels or public radio for emergency alerts, traffic or other important information", the group said in a media release e-mailed to El Reg. It claims that a focus on large broadcasters would leave FM investments by community radio stranded.
The local broadcasters are backed by the Progress Party, a partner in the coalition government in Norway, [as well as by] the Greens.
Related: Norway to be First Nation to Switch Off National Analog FM Stations
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Bot on Tuesday April 28 2015, @04:17PM
Two possible reasons:
1- forced obsolescence of equipment for both receivers and broadcasters (short goal)
2- killing broadcasting altogether (long goal: everything filtered by the internet, so what you listen to is trackable and optionally tampered with, 1984 style).
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(Score: 3, Interesting) by VLM on Tuesday April 28 2015, @04:54PM
3 - security theater
Most of the digital services support remote wakeup and announcement. So next time there's a divorce custody dispute 50 miles away, or a thunderstorm 25 miles away, even radios that are switched off will blare into life to warn you about the emergency. Sounds crazy, but true. Already implemented in Sweden from what I've heard.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday April 28 2015, @06:25PM
Heard where?
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Bot on Tuesday April 28 2015, @06:42PM
That can be achieved with side channels on FM, like those already present for info and crap. I think my 2007 car radio can be configured for interrupting me with traffic info and such things.
Oh and it can be achieved with cellphones, which are more widespread than cars.
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(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 28 2015, @05:14PM
killing broadcasting altogether
Yes, so the century-old technology no longer works. And this "digital" takes people back to the stone age, and they have to start from scratch, effectively crushing dissent.
They are probably using Norway as a testing ground to check people's reactions, if they will find out under whose orders this change is being made; which ones make the most noise about it, and so on.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by ikanreed on Tuesday April 28 2015, @06:17PM
Or... and this is just a hypothetical here, the reasons given in the article are quite reasonable: that (nationally owned) bandwidth is being wasted on 19% of people, when the majority of people have moved on to requesting the actual things they want to listen to instead of listening to whatever the stations see fit to air.
Reserving huge sections of national resources to suit the needs of a small minority of users is inefficient.
And you're a conspiratorial nutball who needs to grow up.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday April 28 2015, @06:34PM
: that (nationally owned) bandwidth is being wasted on 19% of people,
Is there a lot of contention for that particular bandwidth in a small country like Norway?
And when you say "WASTE", what resource is actually depleted?
87.5 to 108.0 megahertz (EU FM allocation) does not exactly have any significant group clamoring for its re-designation.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by ikanreed on Tuesday April 28 2015, @07:50PM
You mean besides cell phone networks, a thing almost every citizen needs and uses?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday April 28 2015, @08:04PM
Free to air not in a phone company' vocabulary.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday April 28 2015, @11:11PM
Well I don't know of a single manufacturer that operates either towers or cell phones in that bandwidth.
I suppose Norway could build them from the ground up.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by sjames on Wednesday April 29 2015, @02:18AM
Definitely not them. That band is practically worthless to them.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Tuesday April 28 2015, @06:53PM
We'll see the fruit the tree bears.
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