The DRM Consortium is expanding its activities with the launch of a new DRM Platform in Southern Africa. The objectives of the DRM Consortium’s Southern Africa DRM Platform, a voluntary group without financial aims, are to co-ordinate the various industry stakeholders in the countries of Southern Africa interested in DRM, to stimulate the introduction and roll-out of DRM broadcasts and to demonstrate a business case for producing and selling DRM radio sets or auxiliary devices.
“My role will be to co-ordinate the strength of all the African parties involved, in order to ensure that the great potential of the DRM technology becomes a practical reality for serving the peoples of Southern Africa,” Dr Roelf Petersen of Radio Pulpit, the Chairman of the new Platform, says.
The DRM Platform in Southern Africa joins thus the Indian, Brazilian, German and other DRM national platforms working together with the DRM Consortium but using national knowledge and expertise. The launch of the Southern Africa DRM Platform is scheduled for June 25 June and will be followed a week later by the beginning of the first DRM medium wave trial (by Radio Pulpit) in South Africa.
“The DRM global standard can be used in all radio frequency bands and is ideal for the large countries of Southern Africa,” says Ruxandra Obreja, DRM chairman. ”From national networks and regional stations to smaller commercial and community stations, all would be able to broadcast their digital radio programmes with enhanced content and in excellent sound quality to everyone in their respective countries. DRM is an ideal African digital solution and we have high hopes of the activity of the newly created DRM Southern Africa Platform, now open to all those interested.”
The DRM Consortium’s Southern Africa DRM Platform will be a facilitator and an intermediary and to be part of it please write initially to projectoffice@drm.org