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The end of FM radio is coming: Norway is the first country to shut down its network

This segment originally aired Jan. 12, 2016, on VICE News Tonight on HBO.

Norway has started the first stage of its FM radio shut-down. As of Dec. 13, the country’s analogue signal went down — so now listeners have to tune in to digital radio to listen to their favorite shows. The government says it’s too expensive to run both signals, but so far the majority of Norwegians are opposed to the switch.

VICE News traveled to Bodø, in the northern province of Norland, to watch the closure of the first FM radio mast. It marked the beginning of the end of a transformational technology that was central in the creation of the modern digital age.

Closing down FM will save around $23 million a year. If it sells off some of the frequencies, the Norwegian government could bring in millions more. But not everybody wants to see it go.

“It’s the wrong thing to do, of course it is,” autoshop worker Finn Hermansen told VICE News correspondent Hind Hassan.