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Additional obligations may soon be imposed on the Office of Electronic Communications (UKE). The government's draft Electronic Communications Act stipulates that cars must be equipped with DAB+ receivers. The Ministry of Digitalisation tells Wirtualnemedia.pl that the UKE President is to monitor compliance with these regulations. According to the 2020 regulations of the Minister of Digitalisation, from 1 January 2021 all new cars should be equipped with DAB+ tuners. Until 31 March last year, the obligation could be treated as optional by manufacturers or dealers. It happened that the tuner supported digital radio, but this functionality was only unlocked at a surcharge. In vehicles manufactured from 1 April 2023, DAB+ tuners must already be available. Once the new regulations come into force, it will be possible to verify compliance.

In response to significant interest from new territories in developing DAB+, WorldDAB has today published a guide to establishing a successful field trial – a key step in laying the groundwork for a future rollout, and fully implementing digital broadcast radio. The new expert factsheet: “DAB+ digital radio: a guide to a successful field trial” covers all aspects of undertaking a trial including: Motivation; Stakeholder engagement; Regulatory and licensing; Equipment; Technical aspects including drive testing for coverage checks and feature testing; and How to conclude field trials activities. The guide is published today at the ABU Digital Broadcasting Symposium 2024 in Kuala Lumpur, where WorldDAB is holding an expert DAB+ seminar and hosting a digital radio pavilion with WorldDAB members AVT, GatesAir, Paneda and RadioDNS joining the pavilion.

The network for the two nationwide French DAB+ multiplexes in Lorraine was expanded by additional sites at the end of February. A new transmitter mast is now in operation in Sarreguemines (Saargemünd), located directly on the border with Saarland. Transmission takes place there on channel 11D and 6B. For the 1st multiplex only (channel 11D), an additional site went on air in Forbach, which is also close to the border. DAB+ transmitting antennas were also switched on in Sarrebourg and Saverne as well as in Verdun, Rarécourt, Marange and Sainte-Menehould. A site in Haguenau in Alsace (channel 6B) was put into operation for the 2nd multiplex.

To coincide with the celebration of World Radio Day and the centenary year of radio in Spain, Radio Nacional de España has started digital radio broadcasts in DAB+ together with Cellnex Telecom on 13 February 2024, with the firm intention of deploying this digital radio standard in the country, which is set to replace FM in the long term. (Registration required for video)

Angel Radio +1 has launched on DAB in Portsmouth offering a time-shifted version of the community radio service. The station, which recently celebrated 25 years since it first started broadcasting, believes it’s the first time-shifted terrestrial radio service in the UK. Tony Smith, founder of Angel Radio said: “Since its first RSL in 1999, Angel Radio has been leading the way on so many fronts, creating radio by and specifically for older people. In 2015 we launched one of the UK’s first, and most innovative, Small Scale DAB multiplexes. Today we are taking that innovation one step beyond, with Angel Radio +1. Our timeshifted broadcast allows listeners to catch their favourite show if they missed it, or even just listen again to their favourite song again an hour later.”

ON AIR support has announced: "On 1 March 2024, we were able to close two important coverage gaps with DAB+ channel 11B in Baden-Württemberg by commissioning the Bad Mergentheim and Baiersbronn transmitters. The Main-Tauber district is now fully covered and DAB+ reception should also have improved in the northern Hohenlohe district. In the southern Murg Valley, the Baiersbronn transmitter has significantly improved DAB+ channel 11B reception or even made it possible for the first time in some areas."

The digital radio station Rádio Energic, which was launched last September and will soon celebrate half a year of its existence, is considering expanding its coverage and switching to full DAB+ broadcasting, its managing director and programme director Tomáš Veselý told the Digital Radio portal. Energic is currently available via the Teleko DAB multiplex. "It can be said that we are the first private large-scale mainstream digital station on the Czech radio market, which, apart from the online environment, broadcasts purely in DAB+," Veselý said. If the new digital radio station is to stay on the market and ensure its growth, it will have to expand its coverage, especially from important locations. "This means that in the future we want to cover the entire territory of the Czech Republic," confirmed the managing director and programme chief of Energic.

Louis Timpany was 22 and working on a building site when he had a brainwave – a radio station by, and for, tradespeople. Now with a huge listenership, Fix Radio is taking on the big beasts of the airwaves. Fix Radio now reaches a growing audience of more than 400,000 people a week, with an average weekly listening time of more than 26 hours, according to audio-broadcast ratings company Nielsen. New web-based broadcasting technology has lowered the barrier to entry decades after DAB smashed open the limited bandwidth that FM and AM had offered. Niche stations with regional or national audiences have bloomed, and include Radio Maria (a Catholic station), Polish Radio London, Gaydio and Boom Radio, which targets the 60-plus demographic.

The Plzeň-based company RTI cz, which is the only one besides Czech Radio Communications to have won a nationwide multiplex in the frequency auction, will share sites for DAB+ signal distribution. The second national network for digital radio - a competitor to the Czech Radio multiplex - will largely depend on sharing transmission sites with other radio multiplex operators. RTI cz, which auctioned the Czech Telecommunications Office's C network covering the whole Czech Republic, does not expect to build new transmitters for it. It operates masts in western and southern Bohemia but does not plan to build any more. Václav Ježek, managing director and owner of RTI cz, told the media.

Delta Média, publisher of the Delta FM and Delta+ radio stations, is continuing its terrestrial development by adding a new transmission site to its DAB+ network. DAB+ is FM radio made even better! With HD quality, you can receive more programmes free of charge and enjoy better territorial coverage. Delta Média was a pioneer in DAB+, offering its programmes in HD in Dunkirk, Calais and Lille from 2018. This was followed by Boulogne in 2021 and St Omer in 2023. Now, towns in the Berck, Montreuil and Le Touquet area can receive our two stations on radios and car radios equipped with the DAB+ standard.