India - Current situation - History
02.09.2008
All India Radio (AIR), the public broadcaster, started trial DAB broadcasts in New Delhi in late 1997, but was unable to progress to permanent broadcasts due to regulatory issues. The latest government plan (the Eleventh Plan) makes provision for the commercial sector to evaluate DMB for mobile TV broadcasting.
However, the challenge for India is to ensure that any new digital technologies have receiver prices at a realistic level for the price-sensitive Indian consumer. AIR has previously held talks with UK-based manufacturers of DAB sets, with a view to arranging a tie-up with radio manufacturers in India for making DAB-enabled sets in the country. This type of deal should ensure that sets manufactured in India would cost much less than imported ones.
24.07.2008
All India Radio (AIR), the public broadcaster, started trial DAB broadcasts in New Delhi in late 1997, but was unable to prorgess to permanent broadcasts due to regulatory issues. The latest government plan (the Eleventh Plan) makes provision for the commercial sector to evaluate DMB for mobile TV broadcasting.
However, the challenge for India is to ensure that any new digital technologies have receiver prices at a realistic level for the price-sensitive Indian consumer. AIR has previously held talks with UK-based manufacturers of DAB sets, with a view to arranging a tie-up with radio manufacturers in India for making DAB-enabled sets in the country. This type of deal should ensure that sets manufactured in India would cost much less than imported ones.
24.01.2008
All India Radio (AIR), the public broadcaster, started an experiment in regular DAB
broadcasts in New Delhi in late 1997. The area covered represents 1% of the country's
population. AIR plans to launch regular DAB services in the country, but though the government has already given in-principle the go-ahead to AIR for initiating action on DAB, the project is subject to approval of the Tenth Plan, which is in the process of being finalised.
The AIR DAB service, which was meant for all four metro cities (Delhi, Calcutta, Mumbai & Chennai), was only available in Delhi. Six stereo channels are planned for the capital. The remaining three metropolitan areas will receive DAB only in the second phase.
The challenge for India therefore is to bring receiver prices down to a realistic level for the price-sensitive Indian consumer. For that, AIR is in talks with UK-based manufacturers of DAB sets, one of which is expected to tie up with radio manufacturers in India for making DAB-enabled sets in the country. It is expected that sets manufactured in India will cost much less than the imported ones.