[BC] Can technology create a significant revenue source for radio?

[Broadcast List USER]

Now, imagine for a moment all Broadcast goes away, and everyone goes  
to Internet streaming.

The population of New York City is just under 8.4 million people in  
just the five Boroughs of the city.  This ignores the population in  
the broadcast metro, which includes parts of New Jersey, Long Island,  
Connecticut, and other counties in the state of New York.

The DMA is over 19 million people.

Now, even if all TV and FM radio spectrum was turned over to  
"wireless" so people can listen to their own stream.  There just isn't  
enough spectrum, unless the cell sizes are massively reduced by  
greatly increasing the number of cell sites.  The costs would be so  
high that no one could afford the service, not to mention the public  
generally strongly opposes the installation of towers and monopoles.

Even in NYC, many apartment buildings cannot easily be used as  
locations for cell sites because the residents don't want them -- for  
no good reason, of course.

NIMBYs rule.

What will happen is the cost of the data will run WAY up, so it will  
be very expensive to listen.

Even the DC area at over 5 million people, and is only that low  
because it is up against Baltimore, which is really, in many ways, the  
same "metro" area, is over five million people.  Still won't work.   
Baltimore adds in another nearly three million people.  OUCH!

Another interesting aside is that there are many in government, even  
at the FCC, who want to bring "broadband" to rural areas, and they  
assume that will be wireless.  This is stupid on two levels.  First of  
all, I LONG to live in the country.  I realize I lose several things.   
Good restaurants will be far away.  I won't have either cable TV or  
FiOS available to me, and likely not even DSL.  Satellite TV is fine,  
but satellite Internet is expensive, but it is something I am willing  
to give up in order to live in the country.  Also, grocery shopping  
would be a trip, and my wife's commute would be much worse.  OK, we  
are not moving.  Why should the government use my tax money to bring  
"broadband" to people who CHOOSE to live in the country?

--chip

On Nov 22, 2010, at 9:00 AM, broadcast-request at radiolists.net wrote:

> Message: 15
> From: Alex Hartman <goober at goobe.net>
> for radio?
> [...]
> Absolutely! Think about having 8 radio stations programmed  
> essentially for next to nothing, with no overhead other than  
> streaming costs (surely can be less than powering 8 full power  
> transmitters) AND you now have a GLOBAL audience? National ad  
> revenue anyone?
> [...]
> --
> Alex Hartman