<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD><TITLE></TITLE>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.5945" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV><!-- Converted from text/plain format --><FONT face=Verdana></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana><IMG style="WIDTH: 248px; HEIGHT: 229px" height=291
src="http://www.cobalthousing.org.uk/FileUploads/digi_switch.jpg" width=353><IMG
style="WIDTH: 230px; HEIGHT: 140px" height=200
src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Music/Pix/pictures/2009/1/27/1233065267409/A-digital-radio-and-break-002.jpg"
width=230></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Verdana></FONT><BR></DIV>
<H1>UK prepares for digital switchover </H1>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>The United Kingdom's Digital Economy Bill which
<STRONG>will force all analog radio off the air in coming years has become
law</STRONG>. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>The move came barely a week after a British Parliament's
House of Lords report questioned the wisdom of m<STRONG>oving all national and
regional radio broadcasting to Digital Audio Broadcasting</STRONG>. It echoed
many criticisms voiced over the bill, which is likely to consign all FM and AM
radios to landfill in five years, except for listening to ultra-local FM
stations.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>But digital radio switch-over arguments are unlikely to
cease for long time. This is because the new law constructs a framework of
conditions rather than fixing a date. It requires Digital Audio Broadcasting
coverage and listening-share to reach a certain level before FM switch-off can
be initiated. This in turn will be followed by a delay before the transmitters
are actually turned off. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma></FONT> </P>
<P><FONT face=Tahoma>Fonte: ARNewsline, Electronics
Weekly</FONT></P></BODY></HTML>