NEWS April 2, 1997 Statement of FCC Commissioner Rachelle B. Chong Regarding the Conclusion of the Digital Audio Radio Services Auction I heartily congratulate American Mobile Radio Corporation and Satellite CD Radio, Inc., the two winners of the Digital Audio Radio Services (DARS) auction that concluded this morning. I have long been an advocate of this innovative technology. Having been raised in a small town in central California, I understood early on that satellite DARS is a technology that will bring many Americans, particularly those living in rural and remote areas, a broad new menu of choices in audio services. I am delighted that we have at last cleared the way for CD quality digital audio radio signals to be delivered from the sky. I highlight that DARS also serves the important FCC goal of improving program diversity in our nation. Groups with diverse programming interests -- such as those interested in foreign language programming, or just those who like a particular music format, for example, polka music -- will have a chance to receive niche programming geared especially to them. In my view, this is the most exciting aspect of DARS -- its potential to serve listener groups with diverse interests who may not be large enough in a traditional broadcast community to support specialized programming by local broadcasters. - FCC -