Looking at the African broadcast media and technology landscape today, there is a definite flavour and preference that comes through; you can take your pick of [pay] TV; the Internet; Mobile telephony (and related data and media content delivery services) being launched, upgraded, and/or introduced on an almost continuous stream.

We constantly here of new investments being made, new entrants into the market – either vendors or competitors. We hear of upgrades, new technologies being introduced, their impact on their markets and demographics. We are reminded of the subscriber and user numbers, their growth rate, the revenues they generate for their investors and incumbent service providers; the projected revenues and impact in the future for these technologies and media delivery platforms. The role they play in shaping perceptions, transferring information, enabling societies and communities; in essence, their critical importance to our communities and societies.

You will not readily find announcements of a similar fanfare or interest in Radio.

However, Radio is the most accessible and the most consumed media in all of Africa. This is especially true when you consider reach and access capabilities in the urban and rural areas. Radio reaches all parts of the African continent; rural and urban; electrified or not. Radio dominates the mass media spectrum with regionally-based commercial stations demonstrating the largest consistent growth in numbers, followed by community radio, where increases have been reported only in certain countries and growth remains strong, if inconsistent.

Radio dominates the media output of, amongst other genres, the religious media (e.g. PanAm Broadcasting – 600 million listeners; over 20 countries, using shortwave & FM transmitters), partly due to the lower economic and regulatory entry barriers for owners than those for newspapers or television. Moreover, the focus on radio allows owners to expand the broadcast spectrum beyond the urban areas, avoid the economic barriers to consumers posed by high-priced newspaper or TV subscriptions, and to address the high illiteracy rates in the population.

National commercial radio broadcasters are the exception not the rule, operating in only six countries (DRC, Kenya, Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia). Some countries have experienced an increase in national commercial stations since 2000. State radio is coming under increasing pressure from regional or local commercial radio. This is mainly in urban areas, with the exceptions being Botswana, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe where state radio remains largely unchallenged. Large increases in regional or local commercial radio have been seen in nine countries. While DRC’s dramatic increase from eight to 150 stations may be explained partially by elections, growth in the other countries is attributed to economic growth brought on by changes in government (e.g., Senegal), or a liberalizing broadcast policy and investment.

Adopting a Converged Technology Approach?

Radio Stations should use the internet much more aggressively to promote their offerings and services, receive content, playlists, programming, etc. share content and programming (within a regional radio network, for example) and extend their reach and audience.

At present, new communications and information technologies (such a on-line programmer sharing, internet radio, web portals, text-to- radio, etc.) will increase the efficiency and capability of Africa’s radio stations, to a similar extent as in the more developed parts of the world – especially the commercial (FM) radio stations operating in the larger urban areas with a sizeable demographic to justify the investment. It is possible, however, to combine the most advanced technologies – Internet audio, for example – with more traditional broadcasting techniques such as "radio relay".

Audio files could be exchanged over the Internet between national "flagship" stations located in the capital (these could be community-radio associations) and then sent out by more conventional means (cassettes, CD ROMs) to the member stations.

There are a variety of initiatives to promote the understanding and use of the Internet by Africa’s radio stations. One of these is BDP on-line, an Internet-based alternative to shipping CDs or cassettes by e-mail in West Africa. Using BDP on line, twelve participating radio stations in ten French-speaking African countries are able to use the Internet to upload or download programmes free-of-charge.

There are a number of ‘extras’ that can be added to the basic station model, which add functionality. These include: Station Automation, to allow programming without a technician/producer in studio. Stream the station on the web. This requires a computer with a soundcard with an ‘always on’ link to the internet. This usually requires an internet link from the station premises.

Another technology option is using a mobile phone to take SMS messages – prepaid phone is better/cheaper for this, as it won’t generally be used for outgoing calls.

Yet another option is the provision of an Email address for requests/audience feedback (preferably with an internet link into the studio/station). Other Internet options, such as exchanging text instead of audio are more realistic for everyday radio use.

There are factors that have to be addressed, however for this to be a viable reality that will add to the profitability and efficiency of radio stations.

First of these is the cost and access to the Internet. The next is the awareness of Commercial Radio station owners as to the capabilities, features and benefits that an integrated (or converged) technology approach will deliver to them if designed and applied effectively .

Using transmitting equipment with power ranging from 1,000 Watts (FM) to 250,000 Watts (Shortwave), commercial radio station owners (shortwave, and more often FM), are able to reach various sizes of demographics – rural or urban, literate or illiterate, electrified or not. In addition, several "intermediary" organisations with strong local roots – such as the Panos Institute of West Africa – could help to link new technologies (the Web or satellites) with local radio stations by selecting and formatting information from the Web and by supporting the development of networks.

What’s Next

Digital radio broadcasting has emerged, first in Europe, and later in many other countries worldwide. The most simple system is named DAB Digital Radio, for Digital Audio Broadcasting,

HD Radio Technology enables AM and FM Radio stations to broadcast programs digitally, a tremendous technological leap forward from analog. The HD Radio system is propelling the medium into the digital space and marks the most significant advancement in Radio broadcasting since the introduction of FM stereo more than 50 years ago.

The digital technology opens the doors to a variety of services in addition to the digital stations. In September 2007, iTunes® Tagging was introduced. This new HD Radio feature enables listeners using HD Radio receivers equipped with a special Tag button to download and buy songs they hear on HD Radio stations via Apple’s iTunes.

The benefits of HD Radio Technology include the following:

Expanded programming choices with HD2, HD3, etc.

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Multicasting allows the broadcast of more than one program over one position on the FM spectrum

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Enhanced audio quality; AM digital will have FM audio quality; FM digital will have CD audio quality

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Improved reception – Static-free, crystal-clear reception, without pops, hisses, or fades

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New wireless data services

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Scrolling text displayed on Radio screen, including song titles, artist names, traffic updates, weather forecasts, sports scores, and more.

A Better Listening Experience

FM stations now have CD-quality sound

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AM stations now have FM-quality sound

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Crystal-clear reception

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No hiss, distortion or station drop off

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Hear the Difference

Real-time artist and song IDs scrolled across your radio’s display.

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More info on your dial, such as traffic alerts, stock info, scores, weather alerts, school closings, etc.

Now offering multiple channels on the same FM frequency

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No new station numbers to learn, digital signal is broadcast on current analog frequencies.

Satellite radio broadcasters are slowly emerging, but the enormous entry costs of space-based satellite transmitters, and restrictions on available radio spectrum licenses has restricted growth of this market. In the USA and Canada, just two services, XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio exist.More Programming

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Broader song lists with more music diversity

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Undiscovered artists and music

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New blends and mixes of formats

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More talk, more comedy, more news

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Find digital radio stations on the air