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.
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