The European Broadcasting Union Digital Radio Conference, meeting in Belfast, ended with a call for broadcasters to act swiftly to build the digital future for radio.

The meeting in Belfast, Northern Ireland, at the end of October closed with the more than 150 delegates from 60 organizations endorsing an EBU New Radio Group (NRG) action plan for 2011. The plan was also supported by the chairs of WorldDMB, the DRM Consortium and the Internet Media Device Alliance.

Instead of focusing on specific technologies, the focus for the EBU NRG will be on business models and strategic partnerships designed to inform European listeners about the benefits of digital radio.

Business models, innovations in content and new services made possible by digital radio were highlighted during the two-day DRC10 conference, which was co-hosted by the Irish public-service broadcaster, RTÉ, and the British public-service broadcaster, the BBC.

Three priorities for public-service broadcasters for 2011 were identified:

1. work with commercial broadcasters to develop new digital content and to market digital radio;
2. work with the automobile sector to get digital radios into cars; and
3. lobby the European Union to support switchover policies at the European level and to reserve sufficient spectrum space for digital radio