Perhaps you've heard of WWFD, which would seem to be an ordinary AM station in Frederick, Maryland. For several years, they were given permission to "test" a digital-only AM signal in the city, even though almost no one could hear them. Now they've concluded their so-called "test phase" of the experiment, which began in 2018, and are remaining digital fulltime. 

The owner of the place, which goes by the branding "The Gamut," insists this is the true future of AM radio. And the engineer/P.D. behind the idea, a guy named Dave Kolesar, thinks there are nothing but advantages to the change.

“We have learned that all-digital AM broadcasting is much more robust than the hybrid mode of HD AM, and in fact has many advantages over analog broadcasting in terms of sound quality and metadata,” he replied.

“Stereo audio, song data, album artwork and even a secondary HD2 channel are all capabilities of MA3 broadcasting. It opens up the possibility of music formats on AM that can be competitive with FM, satellite and streaming services. It makes AM look and sound like every other broadcast service in the dashboard, and that’s essential to the future of the band.  It even works well in EVs, much better than analog in fact.”

It becomes the only official fulltime AM digital-only station in the U.S., although there are two others still in the experimental stage. But what is left unstated is the catch. The station also has a regular FM repeater. And it's on FM HD in other places around the area, including Washington, D.C. So while it may be AM digital-only, it can still be received the old fashioned way. 

I'll believe this is the future of the band when they get rid of those crutches that make them receivable to the majority of the population. I strongly suspect they wouldn't make it otherwise, with near zero audience for an AM outlet almost no one can hear. 

AM Digital WWFD Concludes Its Test Phase 

WWFD Home Page