Experts claim this would boost confidence in DAB radio, which is currently in one in five UK homes compared to the 77% that carry digital television. The television analogue signal will be turned off in 2012, but the Government has so far refused to commit to a date for radio, saying the matter must be researched and consulted on before any decision is taken.
During last week's Westminster Media Forum on the future of radio, the leaders of the two bids for the second national digital multiplex called for a revolution in the selling and marketing of DAB, with other delegates calling for "greater certainty" over the analogue switch-off.
Nathalie Schwarz, Channel 4's director of radio, said mobile phones should be fitted with radio chips "as standard", adding that she was in talks with a satellite navigation company about putting DAB chips in their devices, which would provide digital radio to drivers alongside traffic and travel news. Questions were also raised about whether DAB sets would soon be superseded by the more advanced DRM technology.
But Tony Moretta, the managing director of National Grid Wireless's broadcast division, dismissed the concern, saying the nation was "obsessed" with buying new technology. He said: "DAB is perfectly good enough to get choice and services in the UK. The consumer doesn't need to know what's being used - as long as it's good reception, do they realise how it's arriving?"
Ofcom told Media Week it was not currently setting a common end-date for the transmission of analogue radio services because "the vast majority of listening is still through analogue radio".
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