The National Association of Broadcasters’
FASTROAD (Flexible Advanced Services for Television & Radio On All
Devices) technology advocacy program (www.nabfastroad.org)
has awarded a contract to BIA Financial Network (www.bia.com)
working with Broadcast Signal Lab (www.broadcastsignallab.com)
to develop the business requirements, system architecture and
specifications of an Electronic Program Guide –
an interactive on-screen schedule of broadcast programming –
suited to the HD Radio market for local broadcasters.
The BIAfn/BSL project team will be assisted by Unique
Interactive, which has developed a similar EPG service for the Digital
Audio Broadcast market in the UK and elsewhere, and will work with
iBiquity Digital Corporation, developers of HD Radio technology. This
project continues iBiquity’s commercialization
of the EPG service they developed for HD Radio broadcasters with the
assistance of Unique Interactive.
The project work has already begun and is expected to be completed by
late summer. The overall goal is to lay out the framework to support the
radio industry with HD Radio-based EPG services, similar to the DAB
market world-wide. The BIAfn/BSL effort relies on iBiquity’s
EPG-supporting features of the HD Radio system.
The project has four initial milestones: develop a set of business
requirements; create a preliminary EPG architecture; recommend market(s)
for actual field testing in subsequent phases; and, deliver a final EPG
architecture specification and recommended practices.
NAB FASTROAD is the technology advocacy program of the NAB. Its mission
is to seek and facilitate development and commercialization of new
technologies that can be exploited by broadcasters using radio and
television broadcast spectrum. NAB’s FASTROAD
website is www.nabfastroad.org.
BIA Financial Network, Inc. has served the media and
telecommunications industries for more than two decades with financial,
strategic and operational advisory services and investment resources.
Additional information is available at www.bia.com
Broadcast Signal Lab provides a full range of broadcast
engineering services from FCC application engineering through facility
design & construction, to continuing signal quality monitoring &
maintenance; including migration to digital broadcasting. See www.broadcastsignallab.comfor additional information.
Unique Interactive specializes in Digital Radio & Interactive
technology. UI supplies technology products and services to broadcasters
in the UK and around the world. Visit the Unique Interactive website at http://www.uniqueinteractive.com.
HD Radio broadcasting allows AM/FM stations to offer
crystal-clear digital sound and scrolling text. Multiple channels are
offered from a single FM channel, and advanced services such as iTunes®
Tagging, traffic updates and location-based information, are possible
subscription free. Over 1,600 US HD Radio stations are on the air, more
than 700 offering new multicast channels. For a list of HD Radio
receivers and stations, visit www.hdradio.com.
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