Between FM and DAB+, the uncertain future of radio

It was called "TSF" until the 1930s, in reference to wireless telegraphy which carried it onto the airwaves long before television: radio was the first mass medium transmitted over the airwaves, from long wave (LW), medium wave (MW) or short wave (SW) to today's Band III for digital broadcasting in DAB+ (VHF), via the FM band (frequency modulation).

The latter is starting to disappear, as in Norway since the end of 2017, or in Switzerland since the end of 2024 for public radio. In France, Arcom envisages that FM will disappear from 2033. "Short, medium and long waves are certainly in decline, abandoned or even closed in many cases, but FM remains particularly lively and far from being already supplanted by DAB+ , considers Jean-Jacques Cheval, professor emeritus of universities specializing in the study of radio. The date of disappearance, if disappearance there is, will certainly be postponed, if DAB+ does not experience accelerated development by then."

Currently, 65% of the metropolitan population receives this digital radio broadcasting technology with its undeniable advantages: free, sound quality, mobility, universal, energy-efficient, etc.

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