Formal discussions about the introduction of digital radio into Australia began in the early-1990s. The then Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) convened a Digital Radio Broadcasting Task Force in 1994. It was followed by the Government’s Digital Radio Advisory Committee a year later and released its report in 1997.

The Digital Radio Planning and Steering Committee was established in 1998 to progress implementation plans by examining planning issues and formulating legislative proposals to facilitate the introduction of digital radio services in Australia.

Uncertainties about spectrum choice and availability, commercial viability, and a lack of commitment from some stakeholders delayed a decision on introduction of the new platform and prompted digital radio trials.

The Communications Laboratory of the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts (DCITA), in conjunction with Optus and the then National Transmission Agency (NTA) conducted a series of satellite trials of Eureka 147 between June 1996 and January 1997.

Eureka 147, also known as Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), is a technology for audio broadcasting using digital radio transmission. The European Union developed Eureka 147 as a research project in 1987 based on an initiative by a technical consortium a year earlier. The consortium came to an end in 2000, but later merged into WorldDAB, now known as WorldDMB.

Further trials began in January 1997 when the Department’s Communications Laboratory and the National Transmission Authority conducted tests of terrestrial L-Band in Canberra. At that time spectrum planning assumed use of L band and a notional national spectrum plan was completed. The current digital radio framework proposes the use VHF spectrum with the potential use of L-Band for in-fill and localised services. ‘In-fill transmitters’ are required for full and proper coverage of the state capital city licence areas that are will initially receive digital radio under the Government’s staged rollout policy.

The move to digital picked up momentum in 2003 when the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts announced the formation of a Digital Radio Study Group (DRSG) whose role it was to provide an overview of international approaches to digital and explore suitable technologies for Australia.

Since the release of the Study Group’s report in 2004, there have been extensive digital radio trials in Sydney and Melbourne. The Sydney trial was conducted by
Digital Radio Australia, a consortium of Commercial Radio Australia, the ABC and SBS. The Melbourne trial was conducted by transmission provider Broadcast Australia and also involved the ABC and SBS, as well as a Sport 927 and a number of community stations including 3MBS, 3ZZZ, 3RPH, and Triple R.

Following these trials, during the 2004 Federal election campaign the Government committed to working with industry to develop a policy for the introduction of digital radio. The Minister asked the former regulatory bodies Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) and the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) to undertake a study of spectrum availability.

In October 2005, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts announced a framework to guide the introduction of digital radio into Australia. The legislation to give effect the framework, the Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Digital Radio) Bill 2007, was passed in May 2007.