Abstract

A presently disclosed radio broadcasting system for a virtual radio program broadcasting station uses a divided regional approach to broadcast digital and analog signals over a large geographic region divided into multiple overlapping but separate areas constituting small portions of the region. The small areas are served by separate transmission sources/towers supplied from a common source central to the station. The system supports reuse of allocated transmission parameters within non-neighboring small areas in the region. The station is "virtual" because its central source need not be in any of the small areas, and because it uses different transmission parameters in neighboring small areas in a manner that previously would be used by plural different stations. System transmissions include information signals sent in both analog and digital forms. The analog signals representing audibly reproducible programs, and the digital signals include instructions for controlling operations of receiver devices operating in the region. The digital signals also may include audibly reproducible program matter and instructions for controlling insertion of that matter into a program stream defined by analog transmissions. These transmissions are particularly useful for varying tuning parameters of mobile receiver devices disclosed herein to automatically and seamlessly maintain the devices tuned to the respective virtual station throughout the region, while the devices are transported across virtual boundaries between the small areas within the region. The system enables the virtual station to alternately present audible matter of general interest throughout the region and audible matter relevant exclusively to a small area within the region (e.g. advertisements specifying locations and services offered by commercial establishments within a respective area, and announcements specifying locations of public facilities such as libraries, hospitals, etc.). Transmitted digital information is retained in mass storage units associated with receiver devices and is used for adjusting tuning parameters as a device is transported across the small areas of the region, as well as for providing a portion of the program content that is played at the device during such movement.