BIA/Kelsey, Broadcast Signal Lab and Unique Interactive, a consortium of companies funded by NAB Fastroad to research the viability of an Electronic Program Guide (EPG) service for American consumers are heralding the release of the project's Phase 2 Final report.

David Layer, NAB Science and Technology senior director of advanced engineering, managed oversight of the project.

While Phase 1 of the project described the requirements and a proposed architecture for such a service, the current document presents the findings of lab and field trials of a proposed radio-EPG ecosystem, which were conducted throughout 2009, culminating with on-air demonstrations in the Boston, Providence, RI, and Worcester, MA, markets.

The phase 2 report concludes that a radio EPG service is indeed a viable option for U.S. radio, and presents recommendations for how to best and most quickly achieve it.

The project team welcomes comments on any of its work to rducey@bia.com.