Re:Analogue radio in the UK given 10-year stay of execution
by Cthulhu_ on Sunday July 05, 2020 @08:12AM
(#23738096)
It's not about quality, it's about freeing up frequencies for technologies that use the frequency more efficiently. DAB can cram more channels in less frequency space; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Audio_Broadcasting#Use... for details.
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Re:Analogue radio in the UK given 10-year stay of execution
by globular-toast on Sunday July 05, 2020 @12:32PM
(#23739880)
So quantity over quality. The UK used to have 4-5 analogue TV stations (the fifth wasn't available everywhere), now it has digital with something like 100+ channels all constantly broadcasting low quality, repetitive rubbish. We got rid of the analogue stations to make way for "+1" channels where they broadcast the same thing 1 hour later. It's a complete waste of the spectrum.
Re:Analogue radio in the UK given 10-year stay of execution
by CamperBob2 on Sunday July 05, 2020 @05:17PM
(#23742076)
Who cares about a 20 MHz chunk of spectrum near 100 MHz? It's too narrow to be of much use to anyone but FM broadcasters, and the required RF hardware and antennas are too big for most two-way consumer applications. And there's certainly no shortage of VHF spectrum in general, now that most users have gone to 700 MHz+.
Ultimately, cognitive radio is the correct answer to all questions about how to get the most utility out of the existing spectrum. The only question is whether we'll get cognitive radio or unlimited fusion power first. :(