Experimental digital audio routeing in the BBC´s radio operations

Rather than carrying analogue audio signals on dedicated pairs of wires, it becomes possible (and nowadays economic) to convert them to digital from and multiplex many of them together, producing a single-high-speed channel with a very large capacity. This channel can be distributed quite simply; an optical fibre provides a highway with much more capacity than a copper cable, yet is usually smaller, lighter, has much lower loss and is often cheaper. For a large broadcasting organisation, routeing signals in this manner can form a very attractive alternative to conventional methods of signal selection. The BBC have produced an experimental routeing system to investigate the practicality of this type of system