UK Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell has said that she will be reviewing digital radio adoption with the view to switching off the analogue service. The date for the switch-off is expected to come later this year. The statement came in the foreword to new report published by the Digital Radio Development Bureau.
The analogue TV signal is due to be switched off in 2010, but the government is yet to give any indication of the date that it expects to switch off the analogue radio signal.
Digital radios have enjoyed a strong growth in the UK, with sales up 444% this year – 600,000 have been sold this year already, and prices are set to fall to around £50 for some sets, with the development of new chips.
Many listeners are also enjoying radio through their internet connections, and indeed some sources estimate that, rather than a dying past-time, radio listening is set to grow by 10% over the next five years.