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The Chairman of Poland's National Broadcasting Council (Krrit), Witold Kołodziejski, has this week presented information on the radio digitisation process. He announced that Krrit is preparing a competition for a national DAB+ multiplex and confirmed that he will publish an announcement by the end of this year on the matter. Next spring Polish Radio will increase its coverage from 67% to 80% of the population.

According to new research published by GfK Italia, commissioned by DAB Italia, there are now over 8 million owners of a DAB+ digital radio receiver in Italy - domestic and in-car - and that number is anticipated to exceed 9 million within the next 12 months. 82% of those who own a digital receiver usually listen to DAB+ programmes, and among those, as many as 40% are predominantly or exclusively DAB+. 52% listen to DAB+ radio every day, several times a day, mostly in the morning between 5am and 1pm. Only 18% continue to prefer listening to analogue FM, mainly because their favourite local radio station is not yet broadcast digitally.

The possibility of transmitting an emergency message in the event of sudden events or disasters via a network of transmitters operating on DAB+ platform is nothing new and has been successfully tested several times. EWF - Emergency Warning Functionality - does not need to be connected to the internet and is activated in a matter of seconds. The technology uses the DAB+ digital terrestrial broadcasting standard for its transmission. (Image: Profimedia)

The UK's Radio Academy has awarded a Fellowship to radio engineer Quentin Howard. The Fellowship is the highest accolade The Academy gives to distinguished colleagues with a lifetime of service to radio and audio.As Chief Executive of the original national DAB multiplex, Digital One, he masterminded the technical aspects of the winning bid, and went on to work with leading chip set manufacturers to drive down the cost of DAB radios and make them accessible to all.

Radio Arabella Bayern will be broadcast throughout Bavaria via DAB+ from December 15. The technical range will be over 12 million inhabitants.

The first DAB+ pilot projects for local radio stations in Flanders are taking shape. Applications for each province were due by December 1, although the Flemish Regulator for Media has announced that it will not be difficult if the deadline is exceeded by a few days. In West and East Flanders respectively 15 and 16 local radios participate, while in Limburg they currently have eleven participating stations. In Antwerp the light will go green with 13 stations. Details for Flemish Brabant will be published soon.

Prague radio network COLOR DAB+ has been expanded by another station - East Bohemian Radio Orlicko. The station operator wants to test what possibilities the DAB+ technology brings and what it couldpossibly offer to the listeners in the future. "We bring our listeners what they don't have anywhere else. We map and bring information mainly from the field of culture." said station founder Věroslav Musil.

ICASA councillor Dimakatso Qocha said: "Digital sound broadcasting is the future of radio, with immense benefits to listeners, as digital radio promises universal service and access." ICASA published Digital Sound Broadcasting Regulation in March 2021. With a large number of radio services on air, South Africa has experienced radio frequency spectrum scarcity in FM, particularly in the metropolitan areas. South Africa has not yet made a call on whether FM will be switched off completely.

DAB+ receiver sales in Germany have increased compared to the same period of the previous year. Just under 1.2 million DAB + devices were sold between January and September (+14%) amounting to 152 million euros (+9%). ARD, Deutschlandradio, private broadcasters and other members of the Digitalradio Deutschland association are together promoting DAB+ with a nationwide campaign running from November 22nd to December 5th, on TV and radio, as well as in print and online. Deutschlandradio supplements the joint nationwide activities with regional DAB+ campaigns that call for a switch from FM to DAB+. As the No 1 public broadcaster, Deutschlandradio has begun in recent years to implement purely digital programme distribution in selected regions.

Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) is putting two new DAB+ transmitter sites into operation on 25 November in Schönsee in Upper Palatinate and in Volkach in Lower Franconia. The DAB+ network will thus expand to 77 locations in Bavaria by the end of the year. For 2022, BR plans to put five more DAB+ transmitter locations into operation - across Bavaria.