Should be unanimous....

Any one interested in HD Radio should read the latest post in Radio World. The story posts comments provided to the FCC with respect to the proposed power increase for HD Radio broadcasts.

RadioSherpa has stated numerous times that it supports the effort to increase HD Radio's broadcast power. Without this tenfold increase in power, HD Radio is doomed to fail. The fact is that there is only so much improvements to receivers' sensitivity can do.

The positions that commenters took were predictable. But there were some golden nuggets:

1) BMW goes on record with some very interesting comments on their current HD Radio offering:

"BMW of North America remains concerned, however, that these benefits of HD Radio technology will not be accepted by the public unless HD Radio technology is able to replicate analog coverage in a greater number of cases. Although there are many stations that enjoy excellent digital coverage, there are a number of stations that are not able to replicate their analog coverage with the current configuration of the HD Radio system.

These coverage problems are particularly problematic in a vehicle environment. Mobile reception is inherently more susceptible to multipath interference and other impairments that can vary considerable in very short time frames as a vehicle goes in and out of areas of interference."

Given these comments, one has to wonder why BMW would even want to sell the current HD Radio offering. It would seem to be more of a liability.

2) NPR appears to be leaning positive on this issue. They state the following:

"NPR has publicly stated that it is not fundamentally opposed to — and sees the need for — a substantial digital power increase. Thus, the Joint Parties hope to work with iBiquity and NPR Labs to identify those circumstances in which a particular FM station's digital operations may need to be conditioned to avoid unacceptable levels of harmful interference."

"Not fundamentally opposed", however, does not sound like a ringing endorsement.

3) WNYC states:

"We oppose the proposed power increase on the basis of the increased first adjacent interference to WNYC(FM)'s analog coverage and to the interference we will cause to our first adjacent neighbors. The [NPR] study specifically demonstrates for us that approx. 20 percent of WNYC(FM) analog listeners would experience this interference; a signal degradation that is wholly unacceptable to the service we expect to provide our listeners and members."

OUCH...but then why are they still broadcasting a HD2 AND HD3 station? Don't they want people to actually hear their new channels...or are these broadcasts just for themselves.

We will put WNYC in the "confused" category with NPR.

4) And in the biggest surprise of them all, PocketRadio goes on record endorsing the power increase for HD Radio.

Ok, not really, but that would be very funny:-)

Those who do support HD Radio, however, should be fully behind this initiative to increase broadcast power.

Our question to those stations like WNYC who appear against iBiquity on this issue is very simple: Why even bother with HD Radio?