Localised FM Digital Audio Broadcasting using WiFi Mesh Networks

Digital Audio Broadcasting via FM radio continues to be popular, even today, owing to its accessibility, especially in rural areas where even common feature phones and affordable radio receivers are able to freely receive both, mainstream and local vernacular transmissions without any subscription charge. Additionally, it is established that broadcasts undertaken at a local level can play an instrumental role in facilitating cultural expression and aiding information delivery at a local level However, local broadcasts via the current Community Radio Stations (CRS) are not only expensive but also unsuitable for remote, isolated regions with their rugged terrains.The authors hereby propose a novel approach to help address these current problems through a distributed system for Digital Audio Broadcasting. Multiple FM transmitting nodes (using VHF II: 87.5-100 MHz) form a WiFi Mesh Network to receive digital audio signals to broadcast from 1 hub node. The components used are off-the-shelf, cost-effective, and modular. It is more cost-effective than current CRS systems for mid-scale local broadcasts, with essentially no data loss between the transmitter units in deployment. Additionally, unlike relays, an existing alternative, built-in redundancy in the system ensures reliability, and caching protects against minor network disturbances when recordings are being broadcast. This approach allows for flexible and efficient deployments with wide, precise and accurate coverage, notably remaining equally effective in areas with an uneven terrain, thereby expanding its potential applications.Experiments involving the system were conducted by varying the audio samples and the conditions, for which the evaluation metrics included the PSNR, PSD spectrograms, DFTs, signal strength, and data transmission rate to gauge the transmission quality, range and scalability. Results included a moderate data rate of 12 mbits/s at a 100 metres separation with obstacles from the transmitter, which is sufficient for the broadcasting and fast caching of high-fidelity audio.