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Challenges for French DAB
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According to the daily
newspaper Les Echos, the French government may decide not to preempt digital
radio frequencies for Radio France.
In May, the
Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel (CSA) received more than 178 applications
for the cities of Paris, Marseille and Nice. It also announced plans to open a
call for digital terrestrial licenses for France’s next 20 biggest cities.
It appears as if the public service broadcaster, which has first right of refusal on frequencies, may thus not go digital, in line with certain private groups including Lagardère,
RTL, NRJ and NextradioTV.
Does
this mean no more digital terrestrial radio for France? The government is
expected officially to announce its decision in the coming days. However, if
reports are true, observers say that they doubt the digital system will be able
to move forward here in France.
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