Lucent Digital Radio Announces Tests of Its Digital Audio Broadcast System With 90.5, WBJB-FM, An NPR Member Station

Business Wire, March 8, 1999

WARREN, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar.8, 1999--Lucent Digital Radio, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lucent Technologies, today announced that it is testing its In-Band On-Channel (IBOC) Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) system with National Public Radio (NPR(R)) member station WBJB-FM.

The field tests, which will commence immediately, will evaluate a range of technical issues associated with digital FM radio. WBJB-FM, licensed to Brookdale Community College in Lincroft, New Jersey, is the first NPR member station to test the current generation of IBOC DAB systems.

In January, Lucent Digital Radio announced a significant technical advance, called Multi-Streaming, that solves the problem of providing high-quality digital audio reception over a coverage area equal to that of current analog FM stations.

"We are on target and on time with our IBOC DAB system testing. We believe the full evaluation of capabilities for new radio features that consumers want is vital to the future commercial success of any digital broadcast system," said Suren Pai, president of Lucent Digital Radio. "Working with WBJB-FM, central New Jersey's local NPR member station, allows us to test our system with an organization that is in the technical vanguard of radio."

Lucent Digital Radio, which announced its testing plans in October, 1998, will test its AM IBOC system in mid-year 1999, and will conclude all field tests on its system by the end of year. It expects to have product-ready systems available in 2000.

IBOC, which is being considered as the U.S. standard for DAB, uses existing radio spectrum allocations -- no new allocations or auctions are required. IBOC DAB is both backward- and forward-compatible, meaning that current AM/FM receivers will still be able to receive the existing analog signals in the new system. And when a station elects to turn off the analog signal in the future, IBOC DAB-compatible receivers will operate with the remaining all-digital signal.

"The transformation of radio for the 21st century is an industry-changing issue that we're prepared for, both on a technical and programming side," said Cheryl Cummings, station manager with WBJB-FM. "Working with Lucent Digital Radio will enable us to test the next generation of radio today."

Located in Lincroft, New Jersey, WBJB-FM offers an ideal test-bed for Lucent's IBOC system. It is located in the heart of the only area in the United States that can sample radio signals from two major markets New York and Philadelphia.

"The adoption of a DAB standard will require a concentrated effort on the part of Lucent and other proponents to deliver a system that provides robust digital audio quality and significant scalable data capacity," said Don Lockett, Vice President, Chief Technology Officer. "In this regard, Lucent's testing is a solid step in this direction and NPR's member stations will carefully follow WBJB's work with Lucent Digital Radio in order to make informed decisions about IBOC DAB."

Lucent's IBOC system will greatly enhance sound quality for AM radio and near-CD quality for FM radio and provide interference-free reception and innovative new data services (e.g., song titles shown on a radio display). The system will also provide broadcasters with a low-cost transition path to digital technology, creating the potential for new revenue opportunities.

Lucent Digital Radio draws on several patented Lucent digital audio and channel coding techniques that provide robust digital signal delivery in an impaired broadcast channel, including:

- Lucent's Perceptual Audio Coder (PAC(TM)) technology, which

delivers near-CD quality audio at 96 kilobits per second (kbps)

- Unequal Error Protection, which prioritizes information based on

its impact to audio quality

- Multi-Streaming, which allows for multiple digital streams

Lucent Technologies and its research and development unit, Bell Laboratories, have been leaders in the digital encoding of information used in communications systems, and have been at the forefront of digital audio broadcasting (DAB) technology for the past decade.

For more information about Lucent Digital Radio, please contact William Casey, Director, Marketing & Sales, on 908-580-7008 or williamcasey@lucent.com. You can also visit the Web site at www.lucent.com/ldr.> National Public Radio(R), a membership organization of 607 public radio stations across America, is radio's leading provider of high-quality news, information and cultural programming. NPR is the producer and distributor of such noted programs as Morning Edition(R), All Things Considered(R), Jazz Profiles(R), and CarTalk(R).

Lucent Technologies, headquartered in Murray Hill, N. J., designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, data networking systems, business telephone systems and microelectronic components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm for the company. For more information on Lucent Technologies, visit the company's web site at www.lucent.com.