The AM radio band of the middle waves is about to disappear from the car radio. The Italian OM association launches the alarm: “You can save them. Now.”
The authority for the guarantees in communications (AGCOM) has started a public consultation that will influence the future of receivers in vehicles. At stake is the survival of the band in amplitude modulation (AM), a pillar of free and accessible information, threatened today by the failure to regulate regulatory protection. The OMITALIANE association, the only representative subject of the national broadcasters in medium waves, has actively participated in all phases of the regulatory process, starting from the first public consultation of 2022 on the introduction of the “Prominence” for radio services, that is, the visual relevance or priority accessibility, a regulatory concept that refers to visibility and ease of access to the services of general interest such as radio and TV on digital interfaces, including digital interfaces and TV. those of vehicles, smart TVs, smartphones and connected devices. At that time, the organization strongly supported the strategic value of the AM platform, both in analogue and in its digital evolution “DRM30”, a technology of which it is promoter in Italy and which also represents in the International Consortium Digital World Radio (www.drm.org). Thanks to Omitalne, the AM technology in DRM has returned to the Agcom resolution no. 390/24/Cons among the platforms of the “general interest services” (Mr), together with the FM and DAB+modes. Subsequent meetings at the permanent technical table highlighted the primary importance of analog radio in AM as the first and fundamental step to avoid complete exclusion.
However, the text does not require manufacturers the obligation to keep the AM receiver in vehicles And this means that even if the system will display the AM logo, in the absence of the hardware it will not be possible to receive any signal. Without a clear regulatory obligation, the AM technology will be gradually eliminated by car radio. Omitalne asks for an urgent legislative intervention to equate the reception obligation to that for FM and DAB+, in the name of information pluralism and accessibility. The new Am broad broadcasters have been in “air” since 2017 thanks to law 115/2015 which regulated frequencies from 0 to 30 MHz and which represent the territory in which they act by renewing the primary concept of the radio, or the especially local public service. To date, more than 30 local broadcasters are active and their number is growing although excluded from public contributions.
These broadcasters fully meet AGCOM’s requirements for Mr.that is, free and dissemination in Broadcasting), but do not have access to any public contribution, unlike the FM and DAB+stations. This disparity risks seriously compromising an entire sector by penalizing operators who have been working with determination for over eight years to obtain the right recognition on the Italian radio scene. An essential sector to guarantee information and public service in rural areas, remote or affected by emergencies, where often the Radio AM represents the only means of communication still functioning, as confirmed by the recent blackouts in Spain.
AGCOM states that the purpose of the resolution is “to guarantee pluralism, cultural diversity and information for everyone”but without the reception Am million of citizens risk being excluded. Anyone can intervene in the Agcom consultation by sending a contribution within 30 days. It is sufficient to send an email pec to the address (email protected) with the object: “public consultation referred to in resolution no. 110/25/cons” from the site https://www.agcom.it/provvedimenti/delibira-110-25-cons# articles. For information: www.omitaliane.it mail: (email protected)
