Exorbitant digital radio prices

Digital radio, using the DAB+ standard, has been running for a few weeks now in Australia. From reports it seems that early adopters are rushing to buy receivers, despite the dissuading effects of unknowledgeable retailers, and some shops are running out of stock. The high price of receivers has not been deterring them either, with the cheapest model currently on sale being a Bush for $140.

Harvey Norman has the biggest range, but if you compare their price list with the identical models from UK online suppliers, such as Dixons, you might notice that Australian prices are often more than double those in the UK.



Some, but not all, radios from the UK will work in Australia. We use the new DAB+ standard, whereas the UK runs on the older DAB. If the radio contains sufficiently modern innards then it can be upgraded to DAB+ by the application of a free firmware update. If you're going to import a radio from the UK then you must check this out in advance.

Hopefully, over time Australian digital radio prices will stabilise at a level more consistent with the UK. Until then I doubt the benefits of digital radio, such as less interference and more stations, will outweigh the pricing issues for the masses.

Update 31-May: Australian Personal Computer has a nicely comprehensive report on the launch of digital radio.