News

Ofcom has today published a statement setting out how they will licence small-scale DAB following the consideration of responses to their small-scale licencing consultation. Ofcom will keep the uptake of small-scale radio multiplex licences under review and will then consider whether to advertise additional local radio multiplexes, where there is demand. For all small-scale multiplex licences advertised, a 40% limit on population of a local multiplex that can be covered by an overlapping small-scale multiplex or by multiplexes with the same licensee, will be applied.

A number of DAB+ radio stations in the region of Nantes, western France, have launched new programs on DAB+ aimed at informing the local community on the latest developments related to Covid-19.

WorldDAB member Paneda develop and sell DAB related technology, including DAB head-end systems with multiplexers and audio encoders, road tunnel break-in system and other DAB related systems. The Paneda DAB head-end system has several unique features, as a built-in smart content aware switch that offers a totally new level of redundancy.

The German manufacturer will release its first three DAB+ radio models next month. The DAB+ 1 Mini will cost approximately 140 euros, while pricing for the DAB+ Tower, and DAB+ 100 Highline has yet to be determined.

Sonoro's Maestro and Meisterstuck receivers have been recognised by the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2020 for their outstanding design. The Red Dot Award: Product Design offers designers and manufacturers from all over the world a platform for evaluating their products.

Deutschlandfunk has joined other broadcasters in producing special broadcast related to Covid-19 news, on its Dlf DokDeb (Deutschlandfunk documents and debates) station. The station is available nationwide on DAB+.

Since 1 April 2020, Ami - the French radio station that reports on new developments in the field of technology - is broadcasting on DAB+ in and around Paris. The popular radio station will also be launching on DAB+ in La Rochelle and Poitiers in the near future.

Frontier Smart Technologies is working with the radio industry to launch new services related to the COVID-19 crisis. Frontier based digital radios will automatically show any new DAB stations without the user needing to perform a new scan.

In this time of crisis, we are seeing more and more ways by which DAB+ digital radio is helping broadcasters keep citizens informed and address issues such as loneliness, due to long period of social distancing and self-isolation. WorldDAB President Patrick Hannon details some of these initiatives, and discusses the role of DAB+ radio in helping to manage the crisis caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.

In addition to many projects in Germany, which are almost exclusively realised with AVT's systems by their project partners, they have also been able to deliver new DAB headends to the Czech Republic, Spain and Macedonia in recent months. AVT will deliver two more large DAB projects within Europe in the coming months.