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The Swiss Government took a decision on Wednesday to facilitate the transition from FM to DAB+. Under the plan, which is now confirmed by the Federal Council, the transition to fully digital broadcasting will start in 2020, when the DAB will be the main form of distribution for radio. FM broadcasts will be phased out and digitization must be completed by the end of 2024.

In order to support the radio sector during the switchover from FM to DAB+, the Federal Council has passed regulatory adjustments in the Radio and Television Ordinance of 25 October 2017, as well as in the Implementing Rules on Telecommunications Rights. Among other things, the Federal Council decided that all radio broadcasters' concessions, which expire at the end of 2019, are to be extended to 2024 to ensure stability during the migration process.

Since the spring of 2016, the use of digital radios in Switzerland is higher than that of FM. As a result, the successive shutdown of FM can begin as planned in 2020. On 25 October 2017, the Swiss Federal Council adopted a partial revision in the radio and telecommunication sector in order to facilitate this transition.

Usage of digital radio outstripped that of FM back in spring 2016. FM can therefore be gradually phased out, beginning in 2020 as scheduled. On 25 October 2017, the Federal Council adopted a partial revision of the provisions governing radio and telecommunications in order to facilitate this migration. It also decided that the current radio licences should be extended.

DAB+ has already established itself in Switzerland. Of 57 SSR and private radio programs broadcast on FM, 56 can already be heard digitally. The FM band will disappear by 2024, and radio will then be broadcast only in digital DAB+.

The soulful station takes up new studio premises at The Bottle Yard Studios in Bristol ahead of it’s DAB launch in December 2017.

From kitchen radios to car stereos, millions tune-in every day to the morning broadcast of Today on BBC Radio 4, to afternoon easy listening and stories at bedtime. But how and where we listen is still changing, so while radio remains popular, if you are buying a new radio receiver it is important to future-proof yourself if you want the best quality listening experience for years to come.

The Norwegian Media Authority has said that for the first time in history, Norwegian radio was more profitable than television. The radio stations earned NOK 102 million from operations in 2016, whereas the television companies significantly weakened profitability and achieved a total operating profit of NOK 52 million in 2016, compared with NOK 457 million the year before.

In Norway, new listening figures from the third quarter of 2017 show that the five main channels have fewer listeners, while the new national channels have more. In September, the 25 new DAB channels constituted 29% of the market, almost one third of the total radio listening according to PPM. This represents about 1.4 million daily listeners.

DAB+ is developing more and more dynamically as more private and all public service providers make progress with digitalisation. According to the opinions of the experts on the DAB+ panel at Medientage Munich, DAB+ is now irreversible.