Germany: "A black day for radio"

The launch of digital radio in Germany has been put on hold, following a decision to withhold funding.

On Wednesday, the federal KEF commission said it won't provide funding for the digital radio project which was planned for later this year. The two German public broadcasters ARD and Deutschlandradio had earlier been promised 42 million euros for the period 2009-2012.

According to KEF, the broadcasters haven't been able to satisfy the criteria that were set up for the project to be realized. The commission also points to the fact that commercial radio has withdrawn its support.

Deutschlandradio's director Willi Steul says it's a "black day for radio" and fears that frequencies that have been allocated for digital radio will now be used for other purposes.

Germany has opted for DAB+ as its standard for digital radio. The system is an updated version of the European DAB standard and was recently introduced in Australia, Switzerland and Malta. It is currently being tested in Italy, the Czech Republic and Sweden, among other countries.