Let's Have a Reality Check on IBOC

http://www.rwonline.com/pages/s.0044/t.10298.html

Owner/Engineer Says HD-R Is Never Going to Work

by Larry Langford, 12.19.2007
The author is president and chief engineer of Langford Broadcast LLC, licensee of WGTO(AM), Cassopolis, Mich. and WDOW(AM), Dowagiac, Mich.


As an owner/engineer who has been around this crazy business since the ‘60s, I think I can offer some insight into all this IBOC talk.

At first glance it seemed Ibiquity did everything right. They pulled together several teams to design the digital scheme and got major broadcasters to get behind it.

Ibiquity then designed a perpetual income machine with user fees. But suddenly it became loud and clear, like an old 10-bell bulletin on a teletype machine: For AM it’s not working.

Yes, I can hear the supporters say, “Sure it works. We just have to work out the bugs and give it time to catch on.” And they are so quick to point out how long it took FM to really catch on.

To use that as a benchmark is not only dumb, it’s stupid.