CSA to push for DAB+ adoption in France - report

French audiovisual regulator CSA will ask the ministry of industry to adopt DAB+ as a digital standard to complement T-DMB, chosen in 2008, Les Echos reports. France is one of the few European countries without digital radio services. It short-listed radio stations to launch digital terrestrial radio in Paris, Marseille and Nice in 2009 but never licensed them. France's big private radio broadcasters, RTL, NRJ and Europe1 are strongly against digital radio because of its low return on investment. On the other side, independent radio stations' association Sirti is threatening to refer CSA to the Conseil d'Etat administrative court to force it to issue licences to enable digital broadcasting to start. With the choice of a new standard, CSA could make the previous tender obsolete and launch another to avoid a court case. DAB+ is more cost effective in terms of broadcasting costs, with national coverage estimated to require EUR 2.5 million a year in operating costs, compared to EUR 4 million for T-DMB. France's neighbours have adopted DAB+, helping build economies of scale for radio manufacturers and consumers. Audiovisual and IT equipment makers' association Secimavi (Acer, JVC, Sharp, Thosiba and others) called on the government to adopt DAB+ in the middle of November. If the industry ministry is expected to take several months to produce a decree, and CSA will need the same to launch a tender.