iBiquity
| Subsidiary / Private[1] | |
| Predecessors |
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| Headquarters | Columbia, Maryland, United States |
| Owner | DTS |
| Website |
ibiquity |
iBiquity Digital Corporation is a company formed by the merger of USA Digital Radio and Lucent Digital Radio, with the goal of creating an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio system for the United States and around the world. Based in Columbia, Maryland, with additional offices in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and Auburn Hills, Michigan, iBiquity is a privately held, intellectual properties company, whose investors include global leaders in the technology, broadcasting, manufacturing, media and financial industries.
IBOC can operate on both AM band and FM band broadcasts either in a digital-only mode, or in a "hybrid" digital+analog mode. Most broadcasters for the foreseeable future will use the hybrid method, reportedly giving AM stations FM quality sound, while allowing FM stations to broadcast mp3 audio (~96kbps). The stations can split the MP3 bandwidth to carry multiple audio program streams (called HD2 or HD3 multicast channels) as well as show on-screen text data such as song title and artist, traffic and weather information. Nearly 2,000 stations in the US broadcast with this system.[2] The technology is marketed under the trademark HD Radio. It is the only technology approved by the Federal Communications Commission for digital AM and FM broadcasting in the United States. Due in large part to its ability to deliver digital audio services while leveraging existing analog spectrum (by broadcasting digital information on the sidebands), commercial implementation of the technology is gaining momentum in various countries throughout the world, including Canada, Mexico and The Philippines. Testing and demonstrations of the system are also underway in China, Colombia, Germany, Indonesia, Jamaica, New Zealand, Poland, Switzerland, Thailand, and Ukraine, among other countries.[2] According to iBiquity Digital, holder of the HD Radio trademark, the "HD" in "HD Radio" does not stand for "High Definition" or "Hybrid Digital". It is simply part of their trademark, and does not have any meaning on its own.[3] The name "HD Radio" and logo were developed by Lexicon Branding.[4]
On September 2, 2015, iBiquity announced that DTS was purchasing them for $USD 172 million, bringing the HD Radio technology under the same banner as DTS' eponymous theater surround sound systems.[5]