France
VHF-FM HD Radio broadcasts have been conducted by TowerCast in conjunction with SIRTI and NRJ Group. TowerCast is a privately-held tower company that manages radio and television transmissions. NRJ Group is a Paris-based broadcast group with operations in France and approximately 10 other European countries. SIRTI is a professional organization of 123 independent local and regional broadcasters in France. HD Radio broadcasts commenced February 2006 and have continued uninterrupted since that time. Tests have been conducted at 88.2 MHz and 93.9 MHz using TowerCast facilities in Paris. TowerCast has used a Broadcast Electronics FXi250 transmitter operating with a nondirectional, two-stack vertical dipole antenna located 185 meters above average terrain. The station operates with 4kW radiated power, and digital operations have been maintained at 23dB below the analog power level. No modifications to the existing analog facilities were required because the digital transmission uses the station’s back-up antenna system. These tests have demonstrated the system’s ability to provide reliable coverage of the Paris market and there has been no report of interference from digital operations. The general outcome of the tests clearly proved HD Radio technology is a viable means of digitizing the FM band in Europe.The Ministry of Communication in France recently removed HD Radio technology from it list of choice of digital radio technologies, saying IBOC is not standardized in Europe. SIRTI--which represents local and regional broadcasters--still insists HD Radio technology was proven to be a good choice for digitizing the FM band and should not have been excluded from the options available to French broadcasters.
