Using AMSS on BBC Radio 4 to Send Data to Subsurface Locations

Abstract

AMSS (AM Signalling System) was originally developed by the BBC to transmit data, using a subcarrier, on a long-wave broadcast transmission. Similar in concept to the more well-known RDS (Radio Data System) that operates on VHF stations, AMSS was standardised in 2006 by ETSI as an extension to the Digital Radio Mondiale system. Because long-wave broadcasts can be received underground, AMSS may, as David Gibson explains, provide a convenient method of broadcasting emergency data to miners trapped underground.