Time for Hong Kong to scrap analogue radio and switch to digital, analyst says
Media industry analyst blames an unsupportive policy framework for digital’s lack of success in the city, and calls for an imminent switch to the new technology
The demise of another digital audio broadcasting (DAB) has prompted calls for analogue radio services to be shut down.
A day after Digital Broadcasting Corporation (DBC) announced it was handing in their license and going off air, Peter Kwan Wai, senior teaching fellow at City University’s department of media and communication, criticised the government for its “laissez-faire policy” on DAB.
“The market is dying. If the government believes DAB is the right direction we should head towards, it should give more input to make the market sustainable, and not just introduce it because it sounds trendy,” Kwan said.
Kwan called on the Hong Kong government to follow countries such as Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Britain in setting a deadline to switch all radio services from analogue to digital.
He added that digital broadcasters should be granted access to the digital TV spectrum so as to make full of the city’s platform.
Kwan’s call to completely switch the city’s radio networks comes after Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Greg So Kam-leung said there no plan to shut down analogue transmission.
“We can’t force residents to switch to digital audio from FM,” he said on Monday.