Robert Struble, president and CEO of USA Digital Radio Inc., works inside a minivan filled with technical equipment Friday, Aug. 27, 1999, in Columbia, Md., used to change analog information into digital information. Federal regulators gave the go-ahead T
WASHINGTON (AP) - Broadcasters praised the government decision supporting a digital makeover for radio, calling the new technology's clear sound and information services one of the medium's biggest advances in nearly a century.
The Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 Thursday to adopt digital radio technology created by iBiquity Digital Corp., a company backed by large broadcasters including ABC and Viacom. The approval allows radio stations to immediately begin broadcasting digital signals.
"This is the next step for radio. It's not an issue of if, it's an issue of when," said John Mathews, director of engineering for Radio One Inc., which owns and operates 65 stations and primarily targets black listeners.
Mathews said the Lanham, Md.-based company has ordered digital transmitters and plans to start broadcasts within three months in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Detroit and Los...