Russia will begin testing the Digital Radio Mondiale digital radio standard in the FM Band in July in St. Petersburg.
Russian firms Digiton and Triada TV are working with Fraunhofer IIS, RFmondial, chipmaker NXP and others to carry out the pilot.
The organizers will install a DRM-capable transmitter mid-July and begin regular simulcast broadcasts (DRM for FM) immediately after site acceptance checks are complete. The transmitter will reportedly be on air for six months and have an analog transmitting power of 5 kW and a digital output power of 800 W.
This round of tests marks the next step in the country’s DRM experimentation and one which some consider to be the last phase before full adoption. In addition to featuring simulcast broadcasts, the new tests will also use a higher transmission power than the previous DRM trials in Russia, which took place in 2014 and 2015.
DRM says the main purpose of this latest test is to “demonstrate the opportunities and advantages public and private broadcasters can derive from implementing the standard, as well as to showcase digital radio’s benefits for listeners.”
