Digital radio switch 'to start by 2015'

The coalition government will reportedly confirm plans tomorrow to forge ahead with the start of the digital radio switchover by 2015.

According to media reports, culture minister Ed Vaizey will say in a speech that the switchover timescale originally laid out in last year's Digital Britain report will be enacted, despite it not being included in the Digital Economy Act.

However, in his speech at the Intellectu Consumer Electronics Conference, Vaizey will also accept that the move will be met with indignation among radio listeners, commercial radio operators and consumer groups angry at the loss of FM and AM radio services.

Opponents of the digital radio switchover claim that it will cost consumers millions and involve ditching analogue radio coverage that is actually superior to digital.

It is estimated that the switchover will result in around 100 million existing analogue radio sets being made obsolete and 30m car radios having to be replaced or converted.

In May and June, a temporary scrappage scheme was launched offering customers discounts on new digital sets for trading in old analogue models.

The digital switchover of analogue TV signals has so far gone very smoothly and is on track to come in well under budget when it reaches completion in 2012. Yesterday, British retailers also officially stopped selling analogue-only TV sets.

However, in March, a House Of Lords committee called for greater clarity in the digital radio switchover plans. The committee members said that they were "not convinced that listener and consumer behaviour will follow the same path as digital television".

The UK will also need to see an increase in digital radio usage towards the target of 50% of all listening by the proposed start of the switchover.

Last month, RAJAR figures revealed that digital accounted for 24% of listening in the three months to March 28, up from 20.9% in the previous quarter.

To further boost digital radio coverage, the BBC recently confirmed plans to invest in 60 new digital radio transmitters to reach over a million more people in the UK with digital signals.

Earlier in the week, the BBC Trust gave a boost to the radio industry by rejecting a BBC proposal to close popular digital station 6 Music. However, it did indicate that sister station The Asian Network would most likely be shut.

Also tomorrow, BBC music and audio chief Tim Davie will give a speech outlining the BBC's plans for its digital radio portfolio, including BBC Radio 7, Radio 1Xtra and 5 Live Sports Extra.