(Restoring Shortwave Radio) Bill 2017 Submission 53
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Committee Secretary Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Re: Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Restoring Shortwave Radio) Bill 2017 Dear Secretary, I live in Alice Springs and in the course of my work I travel all around Central Australia. Beyond about 70km from Alice Springs and in several select communities I can receive no radio broadcasts, and my only contact with the outside world is the occasional mobile phone reception area or wifi hotspot surrounding a roadhouse or station homestead or similar. I also have a satellite phone which I try to leave turned on when travelling. This way, if someone (e.g. my family) hears of a fire, flood or road closure in the area I am travelling in, they can try to get through to me and warn me. However, the disadvantages of this setup are 1) someone on the outside needs to have up-to-date information on emergencies which are unfolding, 2) they then need to know my whereabouts and understand that I may be in danger and need contacting and 3) They need to be able to get through to me on my satellite phone at the appropriate time. On point #3, there have already been times when I have been travelling with my satellite phone turned on and I have not received incoming calls. This is despite being connected to what is regarded as the most reliable satellite network. It is also possible that I will not have my satphone on at the appropriate time and there are any number of other inhibitions which might prevent me receiving an emergency call or update. The satellite phone has also proven unreliable when trying to stay in touch with family. In the course of my work as a travelling minister/chaplain I visit people who are the most affected by the termination of the ABC shortwave service: people on the move. This includes grey nomads and other tourists on the roads, hikers and campers, truckies, stock agents and others who travel for work, and station workers who work away from the homestead. I am concerned for both their physical and mental wellbeing. In an emergency like a fire, flood, or road closure they have very limited connection with the outside world. Many live or work in isolated areas, with many hours spent outside of mobile phone/internet and now radio connectivity. They need mental stimulation and connection. The companionship of shortwave radio in the past has been a great benefit in this area. It not only gives them access to what is happening around them and further abroad, it also gives them something to chat about when they are able to connect with fellow humans at the end of the day or the end of the trip. Page 1 of 9 The termination of ABC shortwave services has certainly left a hole in communication and connection in Central Australia. I am, however, concerned about the aims and wording of the bill under consideration. As the ABC has pointed out, analogue shortwave is an old technology. Everything else is moving to digital, and digital is the way of the future. It would be a shame to lock the ABC into delivering an old, analogue service instead of transitioning to a state-of-the-art digital service. Such a service is available in the form of DRM30 digital shortwave radio, as you are probably aware from other submissions (in particular, the DRM consortium submission #13 and Alan Hughes submission #31). DRM30 seems to be the solution to many of the issues with the old shortwave services Advantages of DRM30: 1) It is a new, digital service which fits nicely into the ABC’s stated aims of updating its technology and providing digital radio to all Australians no matter where they live (and I would add work and travel). 2) At least one of the Central Australian transmitters (Tennant Creek) is already DRM30- capable, meaning it’s a matter of basically flicking a switch to start a digital transmission trial. Other transmitters (e.g. the international ones) may also be DRM30-capable, and if they are not it is not a big expense to retro-fit them to transmit the digital signal using a simple piece of rack-mounted equipment. 3) All the transmitters (when they are converted to be DRM30-capable if necessary) can transmit BOTH an analogue signal AND a digital signal at the same time, facilitating the eventual transition to all-digital. People with the old shortwave receivers can immediately have their radio station back while they source a new DRM-capable receiver. 4) Being a digital service, it offers audio quality comparable to FM, with other perks of digital radio like ease of tuning, ability to record programs, information on what’s playing, and even graphics able to be received. This means there will be an immediate turn-around in the audience numbers. The number of analogue listeners is not likely to increase dramatically. With a digital service the number of listeners would only grow as people found out the many advantages over other forms of radio and podcasts/online listening. 5) The advantage of the old analogue shortwave radio was its broad reach. DRM30 has the same broad reach, but with better listenability because it offers FM-quality audio. This means people travelling from place to place would not lose their station. Furthermore, they would not need to re-tune their radio as they entered each town. A single DRM30 transmitter could cover the whole of Australia with a strong signal, meaning that a national ABC program could be heard everywhere without dropouts! This has huge implications on potential listener numbers and desirability of tuning in. Page 2 of 9 6) One of the significant costs associated with analogue shortwave transmission was electricity costs. DRM30 uses at least 40% less electricity, while being able to transmit two digital broadcasts simultaneously (e.g. English and another language for Radio Australia broadcasts). 7) DRM30 offers impressive Emergency Broadcast Services, including the ability to turn the radio on and select the appropriate frequency to deliver an emergency warning. It can also transmit weather maps and text which are displayed on a small screen on the radio to supplement the oral warning. 8) Because of their vast reach, DRM30 transmitters can be located outside cyclone areas, meaning they can reliably transmit emergency information without being at risk of being weather-affected. 9) Because it is a broadcast, DRM30 Emergency updates don’t get bogged down by how many people tune in to hear them. This is an advantage over, say, internet or mobile phone- based services, which the ABC themselves have already discovered the limitations of during emergencies. 9) It is easy to make radios (both car and portable) that can receive both the existing DAB+ digital radio stations (already in use in the bigger population centres) and DRM30. Selecting the channels would be a matter of choosing the name of the station and it wouldn’t matter to the user whether they were listening to DAB+ or DRM30 because either could offer pretty much the same listening quality and additional services. 10) Radios can also be made which support “legacy” shortwave, AM and FM as well as the DAB+ and DRM30 digital standards, to be backward compatible. There are already chips available that can be used in such radios. 11) The DRM standard can also be used for local radio: approximately equivalent to the old AM radio in coverage, but much better audio quality and energy efficiency. This can be utilised alongside DAB+ all over Australia, and broadcasters can choose which digital standard suits their needs better. Shortcomings of DRM30: With so many advantages to DRM30 radio, and the ease and cost-effectiveness of transitioning to it, why haven’t the ABC already taken it up? Surely there must be some significant downsides? The only downside to DRM30 is that everyone will have to go out and buy a new DRM30- capable radio to listen to it. Manufacturer PantronX is currently fulfilling pre-orders for its Titus II DRM-capable portable radio (which also receives DAB+, FM and AM). It costs under Page 3 of 9 $USD100. Mike from PantronX said in June 2017: “We are first fulfilling large orders from international broadcasters. Individual orders most likely are late fall. If you preordered someone will contact you when the order comes up. Sorry for the delays but demand has been almost overwhelming.”1 There aren’t many radios available to buy globally off-the-shelf yet, but that is about to change. India have just rolled out a nation-wide DRM network. That is over 1 billion potential listeners. Other countries such as Indonesia are doing DRM trials. International broadcasters such as the BBC, Radio Russia, Radio France Internationale, and even Radio New Zealand all have DRM transmissions. DRM is on the cusp of taking off globally, so the radio shortage will not be an issue for long. As mentioned above, chip-makers have already produced chips which are capable of AM, FM, DRM and DAB in a single chip, making it very easy for manufacturers to design and build DRM-capable radios. Many manufacturers have already experimented with building DRM into their products, with some having prototypes. They are just waiting for demand to put them into production. Car manufacturer Hyundai is already selling it i10 model in India with a DRM-capable infotainment system. Other car manufacturer are following suit. Australia prides itself in its innovation. It was the first nation to commence 24 hour digital radio broadcasts using the DAB standard.