United States discussed the future of the medium wave

[Oliver]

As part of the 2015 NAB Show in Las Vegas, the announcements of the FCC were unanimously welcomed the revival of broadcasting on medium wave by radio broadcasters. The digitization could be an aspect of the revitalization campaign.

Tom Wheeler, chairman of the FCC put in a blog post steps in view to secure the future of AM broadcasting. Details have not yet been named, but the presentation by the FCC is clear that it should in future be easier to extend broadcasting stations, relocate or increase the transmission power.

On an engineer Panel on the NAB show in Las Vegas, it was found that many medium-wave stations suffer from the rise of electrosmog in urban areas. Interference-free reception is becoming increasingly difficult in the context of the rigid licensing requirements. The technicians' demand an adaptation of the interference provisions for night operation. In the darkness, medium wave stations have much more coverage. Therefore, the transmission power must be reduced after dark. This has the consequence that even the original range can not be supplied smoothly anymore. However, the tense situation has somewhat eased in the United States by deflection of the medium wave on VHF, and potentially reducing the transmission power in some cases to be obsolete.


No road map for the digital medium wave

In order to compete in the concert of radio transmission, the digitization of the medium wave is a pressing issue. So far there have been only test transmissions with the HD Radio system, as used in the United States on FM. The experiments were indeed promising, but the question of suitable parameters for uninterrupted reception is not yet answered, as a meaningful test of the DRM system.

There is no timetable for digitizing the medium wave, a few believe that the medium wave could become a discontinued model in the meantime.
On top of that, in particular operators of medium wave stations with low output, see the digitizing with HD Radio critical because they are not willing to pay license fees to the HD licensee - iBiquity.

Either way, it can be found in the reactions that modernization of transmission facilities with energy-saving transmitters - analog or digital - must ultimately be a national responsibility especially financially, to maintain medium wave as a permanent regional cornerstone of the broadcasting media.

Source:http://www.rein-hoeren.de/content/usa-diskutiert-die-zukunft-der-mittelwelle

[ChrisSmolinski]

Digital on the MW band makes no sense at all, especially when you consider the effects of sky waves at night.

Here's what I would do to "save" AM:
Re-allocate TV channels 5 and 6 to the FM band (this should have been done during the transition to DTV anyway).
Move low power AM stations to this new part of the FM band.
Keep higher power stations on AM.
The rest is up to AM station owners, come up with programming to attract more listeners.