News

It's almost a tradition at the end of the year in Germany: a major promotional campaign for DAB+. For three weeks from 14 November to 4 December, ARD, Deutschlandradio, private programme providers, manufacturers and other members of the Digitalradio Deutschland association will be promoting this digital radio technology.

The team behind a popular Suffolk online radio station is ready to bring its sound to digital audiences after getting its broadcasting licence. GenX Radio Suffolk has been given the go-ahead by Ofcom and will go digital on DAB from Monday, October 31. The radio station launched less than a year ago as the county’s only local commercial radio station. The news comes days after the station's breakfast presenter Tim Gough, suddenly died during his show. James Hazell, the managing director of GenX Radio Suffolk, said it is the extraordinary response from an online audience and local advertisers that triggered them to apply to Ofcom. "Launching GenX Radio Suffolk on DAB provides the county with a more ‘traditional’ way of receiving our programmes both in the home and on the road. I am delighted we can now offer our unique service via Digital Radio to Suffolk’s listeners and advertisers."

Next year, the Czech Republic should see a greater expansion of digital radio networks using the DAB+ standard. At the recent Radiokomunikace 2022 conference, Jiří Duchač, director of the Frequency Spectrum Management Department of the Czech Telecommunications Office, said that it had not set the pricing conditions and was prepared to negotiate with individual operators. Duchač pointed out that the CTO’s responsibility was to ensure frequencies were used efficiently. “We aim to encourage competition, not have one entity buy up frequencies in the first phase of the tender so there is limited participation.”

In a move heralded as “the rebirth of local radio,” around 450,000 people on Tyneside can now tune into more local stations than ever before following the roll-out of new digital technology. Thanks to the award of one of the first new UK licences for small-scale DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) radio, Newcastle based Tyneside Community Digital (TCD), is now hosting 19 radio stations on the DAB platform with more joining in the coming weeks, and is inviting applications from further local broadcasters seeking to reach a wider listenership.

The digital radio offering in Bremen is being expanded: as the Bremische Landesmedienanstalt announced on 25 October, Femotion Radio can now be received on the regional DAB+ multiplex in Bremen. Femotion Radio wants to design its programme by women for women. Under the claim "My life, my style, my music", the station was initially launched in May 2021 on the 2nd national DAB+ multiplex as well as via the internet. Since 12 May 2022, the station no longer broadcasts via the 2nd national DAB+ multiplex, but instead in the state-wide DAB+ package in NRW. From now on, the channel will be broadcast in the regional DAB+ multiplex in Bremen on DAB+ channel 6A.

Something could be happening with digital radio DAB+ in eastern Belgium. A network on channel 8A has now been put into coordination for the German-speaking Community (DG). So far, the German-language stations Radio 700, Radio Contact, Rdaio Sunshine and 100'5 - Das Hitradio cannot yet be heard on digital terrestrial. There has already been a temporary test with the programmes in Eupen. The public Belgian Broadcasting Corporation (BRF) cannot yet be heard flawlessly on DAB+ in the entire DG.

According to the Federal Network Agency's weekly listing, DAB+ capacities for Schleswig-Holstein were put into coordination last week. These indicate the upcoming transmitter network of the regionalisable, state-wide DAB+ private radio multiplex. In August, the Media Council of the Media Authority Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein (MA HSH) had allocated the transmission capacities put out to tender to Media Broadcast GmbH as operator of the platform.

Next year, the Czech Republic should see a greater expansion of digital radio networks in the DAB+ standard. The Radiokomunikace 2022 conference on Tuesday 18 October brought a view on the future of multiplexes from both the regulator and the operators themselves. The COLOR DAB+ project coordinator then highlighted the need for genre diversity of stations to give listeners a reason to buy receivers.

Sunshine Live is apparently planning the same path as Klassik Radio and Rock Antenne before it: the private station for electronic music wants to expand into Switzerland. Via DAB+, 2.5 million people are to be reached terrestrially. The station initially wants to broadcast its well-known German programme - with news and advertising for Switzerland.

While the company Divicon Media will operate the regional and local multiplexes from spring 2023, Media Broadcast is expected to become the network operator of the state-wide, private DAB+ network in Saxony. This emerges from the tender for remaining capacities which has now been published. The Saxon State Media Authority (SLM) has put out to tender 228 capacity units (CU) for up to three additional radio programmes in the state-wide bouquet. Interested radio broadcasters can still apply until 17 November.