News

FM radio is listed as number one by techradar in their list of 10 products destined for the scrapheap. According to their predictions FM will soon be the preserve of angry talk radio phone-ins and ultra-local Fab FM stations: in 2013 more people in the UK listened to DAB stations than analogue ones. The digital radio switchover still doesn't have a date but coverage is improving, car and van firms are fitting DAB radios as standard and the cost of standalone DAB radios has plummeted. That's great news for anyone who likes FM but wishes it sounded worse and was harder to receive.

The Lexus IS 300h now comes with DAB as standard.

The entry-level Business Edition comes with a generous amount of kit, including alloy wheels, climate control, sat-nav, Bluetooth, a DAB radio and cruise control.

The Mercedes S-Class now comes with DAB as standard.

The Toyota RAV4 now offers DAB in its 2014 models.

The Ssangyong Rexton has been around for over ten years and 2014 sees the 4x4 third generation updated with DAB digital radio.

The Volkswagen Golf comes with DAB as standard.

LBC, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, will go national on DAB digital radio from 11 February. Parent company Global Radio, the UK's largest commercial radio company, is investing millions of pounds into LBC after securing a licence from broadcasting regulator Ofcom to take the station national.

In an Australian radio first, Coles supermarkets and dmg Radio Australia have signed a major partnership to digitally stream Coles Radio to over 750 stores - reaching over 14 million customers nationally, every week.

The South African DAB+ trial will consist of two high power transmitting stations (10kw transmitter power) 100kw ERP situated in Johannesburg and Pretoria in the province of Gauteng. The trial will operate as a SFN in VHF band III on Channel 13F on a frequency of 239.200MHz. This will happen after coverage verification at transmitter powers of 2kw, 5kw, and 10kw. The total area covered by the trial is 21185km2 and the total gross population covered is 10,705,387 (21.5% of total SA population). It is envisaged that between 18 and 20 radio stations from the Public, Commercial and Community sectors will participate in the trial.