Last January, Arcom president Roch-Olivier Maistre announced at a round table in the Senate that the Authority was working on a white paper on the future of radio.
The Arcom college has today determined the main lines of this reflection and the modalities for the elaboration of the document, which the regulator expects to complete within one year.
The white paper will provide the broadest possible overview of the radio sector in France, particularly in comparison with other European countries. This panorama will include economic, legal and technical aspects as well as the evolution of uses.
It will also address the major challenge of the transition from FM to DAB+ (digital terrestrial radio) broadcasting throughout France, both in metropolitan and overseas areas. It will identify the prerequisites and conditions for the success of this transition, including any support mechanisms that need to be implemented, as well as what the sector might look like at the end of the transition, in the light of international examples.
This reflection will be fed by a large cycle of hearings, which will be launched soon. Arcom will also endeavor to regularly exchange with the relevant government departments.