News

Germany's digital radio bureau has this week published a comprehensive update on the rollout of DAB+ across Germany. The update includes an overview of the services that are now on air via the two national DAB+ multiplexes. Several regional launches have taken place over recent months, a highlight of which has been the launch of a state-wide DAB+ multiplex in the state of North Rhine Westfalia bringing up to 16 new radio stations to Germany's most populous state with 18m inhabitants.

The CSA has authorised an experiment in DAB+ broadcasting of Radio Fusion, Radio Évangile Martinique, Radio actif Martinique, Radio identité, Fusion 100 % Infos, Fusion Compas, Fusion salsa kl@moson, Fusion Gold and Maknet Jazz from three sites in La Trinité, Rivière-Pilote and Le Diamant for a period of one year starting on 1 September 2021.

Vaunet - the German industry association of commercial broadcasters - has published its research on in-car infotainment systems becoming smarter and more connected. Marci Maier, Head of Radio and Audio Services at VAUNET said: "Thanks to collaborations between the radio industry and the automotive sector, systems are being tuned to meet users' requirements, and the in-car audio experience is being perfected." Key findings are that radio is permanently integrated into the infotainment system on all the vehicle models examined, 87.5% of the infotainment systems analysed have DAB+ while around 50% have a permanently integrated internet radio. VAUNET is currently conducting further interviews with experts from the radio and audio industry and the automotive sector on strategies, technological developments, and the use of data (vehicle and usage data, metadata) - results to be published later this year.

With 120,000 employees and about 21 million customers a week, Coles quickly realised the singalongs and humming did not need to end at the checkout. Coles Radio is streamed on DAB+, making it the biggest digital radio station in Australia. It has inspired a parody Twitter account and loving op eds from gen Y writers, and has even won two Acra awards.

WorldDAB has announced a new name of its annual conference – the WorldDAB Summit, which will take place as a live online event on November 9. The members-only session will continue as the WorldDAB General Assembly, taking place as usual on the day before the Summit, on November 8.

There are around 20 million fewer FM radios in Germany than in 2015. This decline is primarily due to car radios, which are increasingly digital. Since this year there has been an obligation that new cars have to be equipped with a radio that is DAB+ compatible.

The next WorldDAB and RadioDNS Automotive Workshop takes place on 19 October at 1 p.m. UTC (3 p.m. CEST). Items on the agenda include a progress review, driver distraction guidelines and an update on Android automotive. Other topics include alarm announcements, realtime metadata, voice control and new audio stream types.

Austria's media regulator RTR believes “Finding instead of searching” is the motto for the completely revised, interactive station finder launched at senderkataster.rtr.at. By entering their postcode, the zoomable map provides listeners with information about DAB+ signal coverage and programmes on air in their location. The map provides information for all broadcast media platforms across Austria.

Factum Radioscape completed installation of the ENMUXA DAB system in two days at Les Platons. The professional software provides straightforward and secure management for the multiplex, and the OBSERVA Monitoring allows the operator to supervise the transmitted signal on air. Factum Radioscape’s Sales Manager James Waterson, “With careful technical planning and co-operation with all parties involved in the launch, we have successfully delivered our DAB+ system to a new listenership who are delighted with the service.”

The CRC has launched a public consultation on the use of radio frequencies 174-230 MHz, to explore the market's level of interest in issuing licences for national and regional DAB+. The consultation closes 30 days after publication of the notice. The CRC consultation document states: "In order to provide conditions for efficient use and effective management of radio spectrum and the provision of high quality digital services to consumers, CRC considers that the band 174-230 MHz should be used by terrestrial digital T-DAB+ radio broadcasting networks."