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“The PMTX-1 is a problem-solver for any broadcaster or network operator transitioning to an SFN, filling in coverage gaps, or requiring a low-power solution for a specific market or region” says Ted Lanz, VP of Product Line Management. GatesAir will continue to expand the PMTX-1 series, with VHF TV and DAB Radio capabilities expected later this year.

In his foreword the Government Minister highlighted the progress made with digital radio, now representing 58.6% of radio listening, and DAB accounting for over 40% of radio listening. Three options for licensing of the two national DAB commercial multiplexes are laid out - the first is to let the current licences run through to 2023 and 2028 respectively and then re-advertise, whilst the second and third options are to give Ofcom powers to extend both licences to either 2030 or to 2035.

Croatia's telecoms regulator HAKOM has launched a public tender for the provision of a DAB+ digital radio transmitter network management service. At its meeting held on 22 July HAKOM adopted a decision to announce the tender for the issuance of an individual licence for the use of radio frequency spectrum for the provision of digital radio network management services, for MUX 1. The deadline for applications is 10 September, and HAKOM will take a decision by 11 October.

If a disaster occurs, the mobile phone networks are quickly overloaded or no longer available. The public must therefore be informed via an independent infrastructure. DAB offers a robust and well-established transmission network and simple (battery-powered) DAB receivers are sufficient for reception. In addition, DAB broadcasts are unencrypted and freely available and can reach the entire population. DAB is therefore very well suited for transmitting emergency warning information.

A record number of stakeholders attended the WorldDAB Automotive Conference (held online on Wednesday, June 23, 2021), making this event a real hub for all the discussions about Digital Radio in the car. More than 500 participants from more than 70 countries signed up to participate in this live event, the only one brought together by the Broadcast Industry and the Automotive Industry to work together to secure the future of Digital Car Radio.

The Office of Electronic Communications informed that the operator of five local DAB+ multiplexes will be DABCOM, and the other two to which the competition announced in April was going to go to PSN Infrastruktura.

Last Thursday the CSA authorised 25 stations to broadcast programmes via DAB+ on the Paris-Lyon-Marseille axis. This first step towards the national deployment of digital radio aims to strengthen radio listening. Last week was the date when broadcast could start at the earliest. Taking into consideration the time to set up the infrastructure, the radio stations should start broadcasting 12 October.

Radio listeners can now listen to NDR programs in better quality thanks to new DAB+ transmitters installed in this hilly, forested region in central Germany. NDR station offers include NDR 1 Niedersachsen, NDR 2, NDR Kultur, NDR Info and N-JOY, which are also broadcast via FM. In addition, NDR Plus, NDR Blue and NDR Info Spezial can be heard exclusively on digital radio.

In 2020, Frontier launched the SmartRadio logo program, which aims to highlight the benefits of SmartRadio devices. At the heart of the program is the SmartRadio logo, which marks products that provide access to radio stations through analog (FM), digital (DAB+) and over the internet (wi-fi). A product must support all three modes of access in order to use the logo. As the program celebrated its one-year anniversary, the company reported the continued success of the initiative, noting that more than 20 new products are now in the market that bear the SmartRadio logo.

"In ten years' time, radio could be completely digital from production to reception. FM will end without any legal constraint," says media lawyer Helmut Bauer. There is a consensus between all relevant key market participants and politicians that there should not be a forced shutdown of FM. In the meantime, Deutschlandradio and some private broadcasters have started to switch off individual FM stations. The new State Media Treaty (Medienstaatsvertrag) has created the possibility of funding by removing the time limit for funding digital infrastructure. There seems to be a fundamental willingness to support media companies with digitization.