Kaiserslautern, Germany
Positive tests results using the DRM+ standard for a radio station broadcasting on FM were unveiled at an international symposium at the end of May.
Throughout March, April and May 2008, the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern broadcast its experimental radio station across the southwest German city in digital on 87.6 MHz using DRM+ in order to test this extended version of the DRM digital radio standard.
Germany’s Federal Network Agency, the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern and the German
State Media Authority of Rhineland-Palatinate carried out extensive field tests to validate the trial.
DRM+ extends the regular DRM standard, which is the universal, openly standardised, digital
radio system for the radio frequencies below 30MHz (short-wave, medium-wave and long-wave)
by allowing FM stations in the 87.5 MHz to 108 MHz frequency range to broadcast in digital.
Mr Lindsay Cornell, the Technical Committee Chairman for the DRM Consortium who spoke at
the symposium, says: “these tests demonstrate that DRM+ provides clear added value for the
listener by offering not only an uninterrupted service for both portable and mobile reception but
also excellent audio quality. The DRM Consortium applauds the work undertaken in
Kaiserslautern which goes a long way to show that DRM+ has great market potential.”
Mr Cornell went on to thank Prof. Dr. Andreas Steil from the University of Applied Sciences
Kaiserslautern and Mr Joachim Lehnert, Head Engineer from the German State Media Authority
of Rhineland-Palatinate for their significant input into the tests.
The University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern expects to receive a new licence to continue
DRM+ test broadcasts from the German Federal Network Agency following this successful first
test phase.
Visit www.drm-radio-kl.eu for further information on the trial and the project.
