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The Norwegian government has said the cost savings will let broadcasters invest more in programming, and give listeners a better and more reliable sound that will be more easily receivable in a country with lots of mountains and rocks.

The Norwegian government has said the cost savings will let broadcasters invest more in programming, and give listeners a better and more reliable sound that will be more easily receivable in a country with lots of mountains and rocks.

The decision to completely switch off all FM services is not one which has been taken lightly by Norway’s government, and was announced two years ago in April 2015 with the process to begin this month, in January 2017.

The digital switchover doesn't mean there is suddenly FM silence across Norway. If you switched off everything at once everywhere there would probably be difficulties. The digital switchover is a year long process. Norway is divided into regions and the switch off will happen region by region.

Francis Goffin from RTBF explores the progress of DAB+ in Belgium and the possibilty of hosting their own digital switchover in the coming years.

The 11th of January 2017 at 11: 11 marks an important milestone for radio in Norway and for radio in general. Norway is indeed the first country that has decided to stop broadcasting in FM.

The switch-off will start in the town of Bodo, northern Norway, at 11.11am and will be rolled out across the nation throughout the year. Countries such as the UK, Switzerland and Denmark will be monitoring the move as they are considering similar measures, although not before the end of the decade.

Norway has become the first country in the world to begin switching off its FM radio network. For the moment the scheme applies only to northern Nordland, but the whole country will be digital by the end of the year.

Norway today becomes the first country in the world to start digital switchover (DSO) from FM to DAB+. National FM networks will be switched off region by region - starting in Nordland and progressing across the whole country throughout 2017. The final regions, Troms and Finnmark, will complete the process in December.

Norway opened a chapter in telecommunications history on Wednesday, becoming the first country to cease FM radio broadcasting. The switch, to digital broadcasting, is intended to save money, but critics are worried about the effect on drivers and listeners of small radio stations.