This September marked the 90th anniversary of the first radio transmission in Brazil. It occurred on September 7, 1922 in Rio de Janeiro, with President Epitácio Pessoa celebrating the centennial of the Independence of Brazil. Amid the festive mood of the event, the president’s speech opened the exhibition through a 500-watt transmitter, supplied by the American company Westinghouse and installed on top of Corcovado. Only 80 receivers scattered in the capital and others cities such as Niterói and Petrópolis followed the experimental transmission, which also played classical music, including the opera The Guarani from Carlos Gomes.
Behind the initiative was the scientist and educator, Edgar Roquette Pinto, considered the father of Brazilian broadcasting. With his efforts, more receivers were installed in Rio de Janeiro in the following years. Other stations began to appear not only with informative programming, but taking the first steps to broadcasting Brazilian music. With technological developments in the 1930s, radio talk shows were created, which made the radio a popular vehicle. In the 1950s, radio began broadcasting sports, such as the 1958 World Cup. In 1953, there were already more than 500 radio stations in the country and almost half a million receivers.
However, 1950 saw the first transmission of a TV signal in Brazil. With the popularization of television, many experts believed the radio wouldn’t survive. TV provided much more entertainment with both voice and a black/white images. However, in the 1950s the TV was a new invention and it wasn’t affordable for all Brazilians. Thus the popularity of the radio continued to grow, culminating in the first transmissions on FM in 1970, which provided double the capacity of the electromagnetic spectrum (compared to AM) and brought much better sound quality. Later, another important step was taken with the arrival of satellites that allowed for the formation of national networks, and with them, the economic feasibility of various stations of small and medium sizes across the country, which gave shape to the new process of national integration launched by radio and later adopted by television.
So much for a short summary of radio’s history — what about the future? Everything being written by technology experts points to the radio of the future being linked with the Internet. As with the invention of TV, the spread of the Internet worldwide has prompted some pessimists to argue for the final blow to both AM and FM radio. Some think 
radio will simply cease to exist, even with the availability of digital broadcasts. However, it is still too soon to “put the nail in the coffin.” Digital radio combined with the Internet has opened up a new world for radio because distance is no longer an obstacle. We can now capture favorite radio stations from around the world without interference problems or noise. Even poor sound quality is bypassed with high-quality stream-of-data over the Internet. Many cellphones already include FM radios, even tuning stations via traditional analog signals. There are predictions that the future of radio will involve the use of wireless technologies, today most widely used in computers and peripherals such as WiFi. Imagine a radio from the past like a Walkman, but with access to any wireless router connecting to the Internet, inside your home. You wouldn’t need a computer to listen to the radio; instead with your small portable radio you could tune in any station in the world, of which there are currently over 20,000!
radio will simply cease to exist, even with the availability of digital broadcasts. However, it is still too soon to “put the nail in the coffin.” Digital radio combined with the Internet has opened up a new world for radio because distance is no longer an obstacle. We can now capture favorite radio stations from around the world without interference problems or noise. Even poor sound quality is bypassed with high-quality stream-of-data over the Internet. Many cellphones already include FM radios, even tuning stations via traditional analog signals. There are predictions that the future of radio will involve the use of wireless technologies, today most widely used in computers and peripherals such as WiFi. Imagine a radio from the past like a Walkman, but with access to any wireless router connecting to the Internet, inside your home. You wouldn’t need a computer to listen to the radio; instead with your small portable radio you could tune in any station in the world, of which there are currently over 20,000!
Even though the radio today through the Internet is far ahead of its past capabilities, it still is anchored to a computer platform or a smartphone. Luckily, one more revolution is about to happen for us Brazilians. The government is in the process of choosing a technology standard for a digital radio system. The process is being conducted by the government with great discretion. Digital radio will bring many benefits, such as improved sound quality — AM radio with FM quality and FM radio with CD quality — and more options for the listener, like digital panels with additional information such as news and weather forecasts. The digitization of radio and its partnership with new media will offer more efficient use of the radio spectrum, interactivity, lower power consumption, possibilities for new business models, and greater participation in the advertising market.
With so many new possibilities on the horizon thanks to the newest technology, one thing we can safely say — the radio will never go away. No matter which technology will be employed, the radio will still play your favorite songs, introduce new singers, and tell you which areas of your city to avoid at rush hour because of heavy traffic.
* Article published on Curitiba in English.
