[BC] Mobile streaming - who needs IBOC?

[WFIFeng@aol.com]

In a message dated 06/27/2006 10:54:36 AM Eastern Daylight Time, 
goran.tomas at email.htnet.hr writes:

> I don't know, but it looks to me IBOC is about to face some pretty 
>  advantageous and easy-to-use competition. The future of radio might 
>  very well lie in delivery through mobile networks...

This is very true, and the bandwidth numbers you gave are, indeed, 
impressive... but how many users can each tower support at those bitrates? Like Cable 
High-Speed, that B/W is shared. The more users are accessing a given node, the 
less data rate each of them is going to get. Also, how robust are those 
bitrates in a moving car, or for a walking person? 

I do agree that with these newer mobile data/phone systems, IBUZ looks more 
and more like too little, too late. (It's already DOA for AM, IMHO. FM still 
has a glimmer but not much more.) Plug a pair of "earbuds" into the phone, and 
there's stereo music. Bluetooth it into your car or home stereo, and there you 
go. Again, though, how many users can each tower (node) support at mega-bit 
rates, each? Probably not many. Why pump 44K uncompressed WAV through the 
system, when it's already been proven that most people will "happily" listen to 
bit-rates well below 128K?

Willie...