News

More than 80% of the 2,692,786 new cars sold in the UK last year featured the latest digital radios, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has revealed. SMMT CEO Mike Hawes says the number of newly registered cars factory-fitted with digital radio has increased more than fourfold over the past five years, thanks to major investments by manufacturers.

A roundup of the latest DAB+ radios from brands including JVC, VQ, Sony and Roberts.

Austrian regulator, KommAustria, has published the criteria for approval of DAB+ terrestrial digital radio multiplexes, detailing the financial prerequisites for the construction and operation of terrestrial digital radio multiplexes.

The sonoroSTEREO 2 is now available as a successor to the successful sonoroSTEREO. Thanks to DAB+ numerous radio stations can be received in the highest audio quality. In addition music can also be streamed directly from the users smartphone or tablet.

Ahead of the digital switchover in Norway, lots of preparation was done to aid a smooth transition. Preparations included a dedicated team of NRK staff answering questions from the public, Digitalradio Norge touring the country in a caravan to promote DAB+ and visiting car dealerships to ensure they were educated about digital radio.

Listening to digital radio in your home via a DAB+ receiver is totally free, many cars also come fitted with DAB+ radios. However when you are on the move you'll need to stream your favourite digital radio stations via mobile data or public wifi. Depending on your contract and data allowance the costs can vary a great deal.

The show will open on Sunday at 11am with a panel of speakers from the UK: Ian O’Neill (UK Department for Culture, Media and Sport), Alan Davey (BBC), Will Harding (Global), Steve Parkinson (Bauer), Vanessa Messad (Wireless Group), Ford Ennals (Digital Radio UK), and Dom Chambers (Community Radio).

Major radio industry players are uniting to jointly run an information campaign at this year’s European Motor Show. Those players include VRT and Norkring Belgium (the DAB+ system operator for VRT and the private Flemish-language radio stations) and maRadio.be, the digital radio platform bringing together RTBF and French-speaking private radio stations.

2017 will see further development of digital radio in Italy by all radio operators to ensure a more extensive distribution network. There are now a large range of DAB receivers in the shops and it is hoped DAB+ will continue to grow in the car as more manufactures add DAB+ receivers as standard.

Last week Norway became the first country in the world to begin switching off FM transmissions in favor of DAB. Most other countries in Europe, including Germany, are not yet ready to commit to a switchover date.