AIB Member VT Merlin Communications took a major step in the development of Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) services by switching on the UKs first medium wave transmitter at Orfordness in East Anglia at the end of September. The transmitter and encoding equipment were supplied by Canadian manufacturer, Nautel and German companies Telefunken and Fraunhofer Institute.
The highlight of the inauguration “pressing the big red button” was performed by Benny Ammar, Head of Go Digital, BBC World Service and Simon Tarrant, Managing Director, VT Support Services, at a ceremony attended by some 60 international guests.
The DRM service will carry BBC World Service programming into the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Northern France on 1296KHz during the day, and may extend into Germany and Poland during the hours of darkness. The digital DRM signal will show a marked improvement in the audio quality and the perennial problems of fading and interference associated with short, medium and long wave transmissions.
“This represents a significant investment in DRM technology,” said Peter Gordon, VT Merlin’s Programme Manager, Digitalisation, “and we’re delighted to be at the forefront of the technology’s introduction.”