UKRD's Chief Executive William Rogers has criticised the proposal to have a scrappage scheme for analogue radio sets.
He say the proposal is a 'nonsense' unless it is accompanied by the whole industry being afforded the opportunity to migrate to a digital future.
He's talking about plans which were reported [link=https://radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.5582]yesterday[/link] which suggest consumers will be able to swap an analogue radio for a discount on a new digital radio, with old sets going to a good cause.
Plans for any such scheme are still under review, but a spokesperson told RadioToday.co.uk further details will be available as the project progresses.
In conversation with RadioToday.co.uk, Rogers said: “This is yet another typical example of those who support this ridiculous piece of legislation trying to find assorted pieces of sticking plaster to cover over the cracks of a flawed piece of policy.
“If the whole industry was being given the opportunity to migrate to a digital future, this may be something worth considering to accelerate such a migration. However, without a migration plan for the whole sector, something which DAB+ would provide, it would, in practice, further undermine FM as a platform,” he said.
“It would also incentivise potentially millions of people who presently listen to their local commercial station on FM to go and buy a new radio, when they do not need to do so at all, as the service they listen to will remain on FM in any event. This simply highlights what a costly process this is for the consumer with little real benefit and the monumental waste resulting from the policy.”
“No-one knows who is going to pay for this and no-one has yet volunteered to do so. It is all smoke screens and fog. As for the suggestion that we should be shipping these unwanted radio’s to Africa, I am staggered that the advocates of this migration path are now drawing on third world poverty to justify the proposal. It beggars belief.”
“Half baked proposals like this are clearly designed to respond to the ever increasing reality that the present strategic policy and direction is being exposed as a tarnished and inappropriate route to take,” said Rogers.
“This might be something they would like to do,” he said, “but it only makes any sense at all if the industry as a whole can migrate and there is not a cat in hells chance of any FM service advocating that people replace their radios, even at a discount, when they do not need to do so.
"Millions of people will be urged to spend money when they do not have to and that is plain wrong,” he said.
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