GeoBroadcast Solutions, developer of the "ZoneCasting" FM transmission system, will conduct a full-scale commercial test in Florida next spring or summer. The test-station will be WRMF, an independently-owned adult-contemporary music outlet in West Palm Beach.
Although the FCC has yet to grant experimental authorization for this test, GeoBroadcast and Palm Beach Broadcasting have already secured FM booster-transmitters and a simulcast coordination system from Harris and are negotiating tower leases for the boosters.
The test calls for a 22-booster network to cover a single county, but it’s unclear just how many "zones" WRMF’s 100-kilowatt signal will actually be carved into.
seem skeptical of the plan. The burning question isn’t about synchronizing the flagship station with its two dozen boosters; it’s about what all of those extra FM signals will do to the listenability of the frequency they collectively occupy.
Balancing the signal strength between the boosters – especially for mobile receivers, which will cross between them frequently – will be critical to the system’s success.
ZoneCasting’s primary attraction is that it will allow radio stations to sell more localized advertisements. It seems like an extremely convoluted way to expand that dubious marketplace.
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