The projected and possible shutdowns of analog FM in some European countries signify nothing whatsoever with respect to the future of FM in the USA, Canada, and many other countries. Those European countries have adopted a digital broadcast standard called DAB, which as I understand it does not provide for simultaneous analog and digital transmission. While in the USA the standard that has been adopted is HD Radio (HD just being a trademark, which does NOT stand for "high definition"), which can be and is presently being used by many stations to broadcast a hybrid digital + analog signal over the FM band (the analog component being receivable by an ordinary FM tuner or radio).
While under the HD Radio standard digital-only broadcasts are possible, I’ve seen nothing to indicate that abandonment of analog FM or hybrid analog + digital HD Radio broadcasts is anywhere on the horizon in the USA.
Also, if and when that were to ever occur, I wouldn’t be surprised if some companies were to produce converter boxes, that would receive digital broadcasts and convert the signal to analog FM that could be listened to with an analog FM tuner. What the resulting sound quality would be is anyone’s guess, of course, but given the relative insensitivity of FM to noise that may be riding on the signal I wouldn’t be surprised if the results turned out to be pretty good.
Regards,
-- Al
