iBiquity CEO Bob Struble responds to HD Radio rumors

Bob Struble

Bob responded to our story yesterday, regarding some rumors heard by some highly accredited/respected Bay Area engineers. The run-down included iBiquity not providing the promised updates to its software to repair the "bugs" that have developed in the AM codec; and CBS Radio has quietly told all of its Chief Engineers that CBS will NOT be proceeding with 6-dB power increases for any of its FM stations in any market, at least at this time. CBS Radio has not as of yet responded. Bob’s response:

“Thanks for letting us respond. You are asking on a number of topics, we have boiled them down to two areas:

With regard to your AM questions, we do know of some software bugs, but they do not relate to iBiquity’s code. They are implementation issues at the manufacturers. We of course are working with the manufacturers daily, but we cannot fix them directly because it is not our software. More broadly, we feel it best to address this and other AM questions in a comprehensive manner through a technical article for submission to RBR.  Our plan is to have this written by Jeff Detweiler as the bulk of material will be underpinned by Jeff’s recent NRSC presentation. Jeff expects to have his submission ready for your review within two weeks. He is copied.

With regard to your inquiry tied to CBS, while we do not issue public comments about broadcaster’s plans, we believe these rumors to be untrue. I think you should call CBS directly and ask them. We are, and have stated publicly, delighted with the recent power increase decision and we are pleased with the industry plans and implementation to date. The initial conversions have exceeded our expectations.”

Tweet