The planets are certainly in alignment for digital radio. iBiquity Digital Corp., developers of HD Radio technology, reports that as a result of broadcasters converting stations at a pace of more than one per day, six of ten Americans now have access to HD Radio broadcasts, and 75 percent of consumers will have access to HD radio broadcasts by December 2006.  In all, more than 600 HD Radio broadcasters are currently on the air, up from some 275 in mid-2005. That number is expected to jump to 1,200 by year’s end, according to iBiquity.

By way of review, HD Radio broadcasts are transmitted in digital and provide high-quality sound without static interference. Additionally, HD Radio can transmit text read-outs on a radio display with information such as artist and song titles. Radio stations broadcasting in HD Radio can transmit more than one “station” on a frequency simultaneously, in what is called “multi-casting.” More than 100 new HD2 multi-cast stations are now on the air, broadcasting diverse formats that include Classic Rock, Female Talk, Classic Jazz, Disco, International Hits, Xtreme Hip Hop, Christian Rock and News.

HD Radio receivers are now available, or are expected soon, from Audio Design Associates, Alpine, Boston Acoustics, DaySequerra, DICE Electronics, Eclipse by Fujitsu Ten, JVC, Kenwood, Panasonic, Polk Audio, Radiosophy, Rotel, Sanyo, Visteon and Yamaha, with more under development.

BMW became the first automaker to offer HD Radio as a factory-installed option in the 2006 model year on its 6 and 7 Series automobiles. According to iBiquity, eight automaker brands representing 30 different models are committed to launch HD Radio within the next few years.

For portents of the future of digital radio, as in all things consumer electronics, the International CES is a must. At the 2006 edition of the show, iBiquity announced that it has developed a reference design for a universal tuner box that plugs into satellite-ready headunits, enabling OEM or aftermarket headunits to receive digital AM and FM signals, as well as FM multi-cast signals. No special antennas or other accessories are required. The HD Radio tuner box will be compatible with both factory-installed receivers – including those from Chrysler, Ford and GM – and aftermarket receivers from companies such as Alpine, Kenwood, Panasonic, Pioneer and Sony.

If telecom companies Cingular, Sprint and Motorola have anything to say about it, iBiquity and its supporters aren’t going to have the mobile music sector all to themselves. The three companies are working on personalized music listening experiences on the devices consumers are usually never without—their mobile phones.

Cingular is looking to embrace mobile phone customers looking for mobile access to music, delivering about 40 channels of commercial-free music known as MobiRadio and sourced from Music Choice and MobiTV Inc.'s streaming media service. MobiRadio displays album art, song and artist information during playback that is streamed directly to the mobile phone.

Motorola took the wraps off of iRadio at the 2006 International CES.All that's needed to get 435 channels of commercial-free radio is an iRadio compatible phone (such as the Motorola ROKR E2), an iRadio subscription and an Internet connection. Users will be able to personalize their music play lists by genre, create station formats as well as build and manage personalized playlists from the digital music collection already on their PCs. These selections can be refreshed automatically every time the user recharges his/her phone. 

One interesting feature of iRadio is its ability to pause for an incoming phone call and resume playing when the call is disconnected, so the consumer doesn’t miss a beat of the song that was playing.

V CAST Music is the name of the new Verizon Wireless mobile music service. By sync-ing to music consumers already own via their PCs and/or expanding their collections by purchasing new songs or albums from the Verizon Wireless music catalog (via phone or PC), V CAST is designed to transform the wireless phone into a portable music player. Current V CAST music-capable phones include the LG VX8100, Samsung’s SCH-a950 and the Audiovox CDM8945.