Ford Models to Come with Digital Radios by 2013

Video killed the radio star, and now digital radio will soon kill FM wavelengths. The automotive industry is getting ready to switch to the new generation of in-car radio, which will receive their signal digitally, and not through FM antennas, with some of the governments of the world, especially the British one, agreeing on 2015 as the date when FM goes dark.

Until then, car makers have a lot of time to get their act together and ready their cars to receive digital radio signals. Some are years ahead of others, with only one being at the head of the pack: Ford.

The American car maker announced that, by the end of 2012, all the models in its portfolio will be equipped with Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) technologies. The process of implementation has already begun, with the new Focus being among the first to get it this year. More models will follow.

“It is a looming issue, and we want to be well placed,” Ford of Great Britain Managing Director Nigel Sharp was quoted as saying by What Car?. “The fact is that the Focus's radio is future-proofed now, whereas those in our competitors' cars aren't.”

“The plan is to extend that across every Ford model in the next 18 months or so. There are technical issues to overcome because, for instance, traffic alerts are broadcast only in FM at the moment, but we are confident we can achieve our goal.”

The digital signal, unlike the analogue one in use today, is said to be more energy efficient, using less than 7 percent of the electricity needed to transmit it in FM.