The test broadcasts, a licence for which is expected imminently from communications regulator Icasa, will see three radio stations - including Joburg's popular music station Hot 102.7FM - take to the air using the new broadcasting technology that could eventually compete with analogue FM broadcasts for South African listeners' attention.
All that those interested in picking up the broadcasts will need is a DRM receiver, and these are available inexpensively online - they include traditional radios as well as dongles that connect to computers or even smartphones.
DRM and DAB Digital Audio Broadcasting are competing standards that are vying for the attention of policymakers, regulators and broadcasters around the world, with DAB gaining an early edge in developed markets, especially in Europe, and DRM enjoying strong early adoption in emerging economies, including India and Indonesia. South Africa has not sided in favour of one standard over the other.
The transmitter for the new DRM trial is hosted at a high site in Northcliff in Joburg, from where it will provide coverage across a large part of South Africa's biggest city.
The launch of digital radio in South Africa has been slow in coming. Various trials have been run over the past decade or more, but Jones and Dreyer believe the technology is getting closer to being ready for commercial deployment here.