Brazil Without Digital Radio: The Persistence of the Problematic Hdradio

I am Ricardo Gurgel, an engineer, and in my original post in Portuguese, I discuss Brazil’s delay in implementing digital radio and the insistence on the HDRadio format, which, despite numerous tests and investments, has never even been launched here.

The HDRadio system, originating in the United States, takes a hybrid approach to radio digitization, unlike the fully digital European model. HDRadio attempts to package both analog and digital signals within the same FM band, creating a technical challenge: self-interference. In this setup, the very broadcaster runs the risk of compromising its own signal unless it operates at extremely low power in digital transmission. This hybrid format acts as an anchor to the past, limiting the reach and efficiency of a digital signal that could otherwise be more robust and of higher quality.

In Brazil, tests with HDRadio were conducted between 2010 and 2013, but the technical issues were never resolved. Despite the successful transition of television to digital, radio has not followed the same path. We are now in 2025, and after years of investment, there is still no effective digitalization.

Beyond being technically problematic, HDRadio is an expensive system with slow adoption, even in the United States. Unlike radio, digital TV standards were implemented independently from analog signals, avoiding interference.

Meanwhile, in Europe, digital radio has already been consolidated, offering superior sound quality, a wider dynamic range, and stronger competition against new digital media.

Why does Brazil insist on a flawed model instead of seeking a more efficient solution?

In FM broadcasting, high frequencies reach a maximum of 15,000 Hz, whereas digital radio can reach 20,000 Hz—the upper limit of human hearing. Similarly, FM transmission does not extend to the lowest bass frequencies perceivable by the human ear, whereas digital radio can faithfully reproduce them.

The audio quality of digital radio is much richer and more open compared to analog radio. This is not about the type of receiver display (whether digital or with a pointer), but rather the digital transmission technology itself, which delivers superior sound quality.