Norway Says Goodbye To FM Radio – Embraces All-Digital Radio Broadcasts; Switzerland Signs Off Next

Residents of the northern county of Nordland in Norway will say goodbye to their beloved FM radio programming starting tomorrow. An all-digital radio format will replace aging FM radio broadcasts and reports say that digital would have better sound quality and will cost less as well.

Nordland, located in the middle of fjords, mountains and forests, is the first to official sign off FM and the rest of the country is expected to follow suit. Norway will be the first country to completely stop FM broadcasts and embrace digital radio broadcasts; Switzerland is expected to follow.

Independent reported on Norway's all-digital switch and said that the Norwegian government plans to start digital-only radio throughout the year. Norway's capital, Oslo is expected to save around 200 million Norwegian krone a year once the switch is made. It has become more difficult to transmit FM radios over the region with mountain ranges, fjords and forests blocking the air waves.

The New Scientist mentioned that the country's geography in particular, has made analog radio transmission very difficult. Digital radio would be able to reach more people, would have better sound quality and would be able to run at lower power. Norway's FM radio infrastructure is also ageing and committing to a full-digital broadcast would happen anyway.

While the government is expected to save a lot of money from the switch, ordinary people are not quite impressed. Only 70% of the country has digital receivers while most cars on the road do not have digital radio yet. People rely on FM not just for entertainment but also for weather reports, traffic updates and news; cutting off FM radio could be dangerous for some homes and motorists. Converting from an analog radio to digital radio could also cost more. An adapter to convert FM radio to digital radio costs around 1,500 Norwegian krone.

But despite all these set backs, the government is optimistic about the change. Around 40 digital radio channels are also expected to replace 5 FM radio stations. After Norway, Switzerland will cease FM transmission by 2020. U.K. will also phase out FM once the number of people using digital radio has reached 50%.