MIXED MESSAGES emerged from yesterday’s Digital Radio Conference in Belfast, depending on the country of origin of the people to whom you talked.

From Australia there was evidence that DAB (digital audio broadcasting) was no longer the sole preserve of public service broadcasters. Closer to home, RTÉ highlighted how digital radio in Ireland would be stuck at 56 per cent population coverage and remain solely in the hands of the State broadcaster until a new regulatory structure and more investment came along.

Joan Warner, chief executive of Commercial Radio Australia, said her organisation had brokered a deal with the Australian government to incentivise the rollout of non-public service DAB stations.

“Every incumbent commercial broadcaster was given the spectrum to run more than one station with no restrictions on what they could do with them,” she said.

The government also gave a guarantee that there would be no new digital-only operators allowed into the five major cities where existing stations would invest in a digital rollout. It worked.

A year on and about 18 new stations have launched in each city. Warner said a few were already making money.

“At this stage we are seeing sponsorships rather than the traditional 15- and 30-second ad slots, but advertising agencies are very excited about it. They have been buying stations for a day and extending their presence on to the accompanying websites.”

An emerging phenomenon is “pop-up stations” which cover special events. A dedicated digital channel was set up by one of the country’s leading music stations for three months to exclusively promote pop artist Pink as she toured the country.

The perception is that niche content is the secret to digital success but there are other drivers, according to Ms Warner, such as better quality audio and ease of use.

In Italy, where analogue radio coverage is notoriously patchy in many parts of the country, the improved broadcast quality is a major selling point.

Despite its progress with DAB, Australia has no deadline for turning off analogue. “We are not interested in talking about a switch-off until government gives us the commitment that the whole industry will move,” Ms Warner said. “Otherwise you end up with a digital divide between metropolitan and country people.”

In Ireland, the debate about a digital switchover for radio is not on anyone’s agenda. To date, the public service broadcaster RTÉ has reached 56 per cent population coverage with its DAB service, offering a choice of seven stations.

About 230,000 people, or 7 per cent of the population, now own a DAB radio in Ireland.

Increasing this number dramatically will depend on Government intervention, according to JP Coakley, director of operations at RTÉ.

“A recurring theme of this conference is that there needs to be some sort of Government support and national agreement to steer a migration to digital.”

The countries that had made the most progress, like Britain and Australia, had a national plan in place that involved commercial and public players, he said. Until the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland agreed on a regulatory framework and the Government was committed to funding, DAB in Ireland would not grow beyond its existing public service footprint.

To bring in commercial stations, the State would need a separate transmission infrastructure – using the same masts but with different antennae. Mr Coakley estimated that about €15 million would be needed.

“In the current economic climate it’s not going to happen immediately,” he said, “but the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland has targeted 2012-13 as when we might see a phasing-in of a service beginning in the large population areas.”