Digital radio must not kill FM, says Beith

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 29th Jun 2010

Balance must be maintained between push for DAB and need for FM, says Beith

The development of digital radio must not lead to the withdrawal of FM, says Sir Alan Beith, Liberal Democrat MP for Berwick upon Tweed.

Sir Alan has raised the future of FM broadcasting in the House of Commons amid fears that FM transmissions would end because of the rise in take-up of DAB radio.

Sir Alan said

"There are more than 100 million FM radios, enabling people to enjoy music and speech in their cars, in the various rooms of their houses and on their hi-fi equipment.

"It would be a tragedy if all that were switched off simply because even the majority of homes had bought one digital radio."

In response the Culture minister said that the digital switchover is continuing but all factors are being taken into account.

Speaking after the debate, Sir Alan added

"in some parts of the Berwick constituency DAB is not available or is of poor quality and FM has much better reception. And it is likely to be far too expensive for people to have in cars for many years to come.

"I will continue to monitor the situation."