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Date: 09 October 1998
From: DDKumar@AOL.COM
Subject: USADR's IBOC petition

John Reiser writes:

>Just received word that yesterday USA Digital Radio (USADR) filed a
>petition with FCC for rulemaking to implement IBOC digital radio
>broadcasting. Watch FCC web site for further details.

I've read USADR's press release, and the importance of this action is
*vastly* overstated. USADR's petition to the FCC is premature and is
a back-door method of trying to build endorsement for their system.
They are even going so far as to try and trademark the phrase In-Band
On-Channel and acronyms IBOC and IBOC DAB despite the fact that these
terms have been in common use for years.

The strategy is obvious: control the name IBOC, control its
definition, and try to have the FCC select USADR's "definition". The
FCC is smarter than that. It's an insulting tactic.

The facts are that competition has intensified with both Digital
Radio Express and Lucent Digital Radio already prepared for (or
underway with) FM IBOC field trials, while USADR continues to
struggle along. I can assure you that anything in the petition which
favors USADR's system will be strongly and vocally opposed by the
other proponents.

What good may come of it? I think most of the proponents would like
reassurance from the FCC that IBOC is the preferred method of
terrestrial DAB in the U.S., that the FCC will help determine
interference guidelines similar to DTV since there is no IBOC DAB
panacea, and that there will be some kind of system selection
process.

Regards,

Derek Kumar
Digital Radio Express

<< MODERATOR'S NOTE: A link to USA Digital Radio's
press release is found under the United States listing at
http://www.magi.com/~moted/dr >>

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