Annual EBU Radio Week 'makes waves' across industry

Key industry players including WorldDMB, DRM and RadioDNS will come together in Geneva for EBU Radio Week from 13-17 February.

Their ideas and experiences will be shared across the week culminating in the Digital Radio Summit on Wednesday 15 February.

In addition to updates from key standards bodies, the programme includes case studies from some of the developing digital radio markets, user experience presentations and an overview of some of the latest radio tools and platforms in development at the EBU. 

While the Digital Radio Summit focuses primarily on strategic matters, earlier in the week, the RadioHack workshops will provide an opportunity for developers to ‘get their hands dirty’ by digging into the code. With so many exciting developments around software-enabled radio and hybrid services the ground is fertile for the EBU to facilitate this kind of collaborative work.

The EBU Radio Week activities compliment efforts to focus attention on the industry by UNESCO, which has proclaimed 13 February World Radio Day.  

Mathias Coinchon of the EBU’s Technology and Development Department says public service media recognise that Europe's radio future does not rest with a single system, but rather multiple platforms.  

"Listeners access radio when and wherever they want, whether it be via a kitchen radio, an internet connection or an application on their mobile phone. These annual events are an opportunity to provoke innovation, to bring together software developers, integrators, engineers, service providers, network operators and manufacturers to learn about existing open tools, contribute to developments and, of course, make contacts." 

A particular focus for this year’s Radio Week is on community radio. At the RadioHack workshops participants will learn how to set up a basic service for their FM or DAB/DAB+ station. Mr Coinchon continued: "Community digital radio can become a reality for very little. All it takes is an antenna, a PC, SDR peripheral and an amplifier to reach an audience the size of Geneva. This technology is freely available and is at the heart of the EBU concept free to air. A temporary local DAB+ transmission from the roof of the EBU with some example stations will be on air during the radio week" 

Both the Digital Radio Summit and the RadioHack workshops are open to EBU Members and non-members. A registration is required in both cases and a fee applies in the case of the Digital Radio Summit.

Click here for further information on Radio Week. 

Click here for more information on UNESCO World Radio Day.

(Source : European Broadcasting Union)