Introduction

Radio broadcast services have been able, over the past 100 years, to bring news and entertainment to listeners without wires. Radio broadcast systems use wireless technology to transmit the same information to many recipients. The most popular applications of broadcast services are television and audio (commonly called radio) transmission. Radio and television broadcast services, as we know them, are now changing from analog to digital service to allow for new services and more individualized features.

For many years, broadcasters had monopolized the distribution of some forms of information to the general public. This had resulted in strict regulations on the ownership, operation and types of services radio broadcast companies could offer. Due to the recent competition of wide area information distribution, Congress eased its regulation of the broadcast industry through the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

In the mid 1990 s, a major shift occurred in the broadcast industry; the conversion from analog systems to digital systems. The use of digital transmission allows a broadcaster to bundle multiple types of services onto a single radio channel signal. This allows radio broadcast companies to offer various types of services including digital television, paging and other information services. The ability to integrate several services into one transmission signal typically reduces the average equipment cost per customer.

Because most broadcast systems can be listened to by anyone with a suitable radio receiver, revenues from broadcast companies primarily come from advertisers. Over the past 10 years, advanced control systems have been developed that allow control...