prior to the commencement of permanent digital radio in australia, there had been very limited use of the radio data system. unlike in europe where inclusion of rds technology in fm receivers, this had never been mandated in australia. the few stations which modified their fm radio transmitters to include the rds signal in the multiplex, mostly made only limited use of the rds specification to transmit a textual version of their callsign and / or on-air identifier. with the availability of digital radio receivers, there was real concern as to listeners at the periphery of the digital radio coverage area transitioning to the wider fm radio coverage. the rds specification had always offered automatic and relatively seamless transition between the two. capital city fm radio operators quickly deployed rds within their transmitters. as digital radio deployments commence deployment in regional areas, rds is expected to become ubiquitous.