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Germany's second national DAB + platform is celebrating its first birthday: operated by Antenne Deutschland the national multiplex has been on air since 5 October, 2020. In the meantime, 15 of the up to 16 new commercial radio stations can be received nationwide, including well-known radio brands and attractive new formats. A total of 28 DAB+ radio stations are now broadcast nationwide in Germany.

Seven years after the commercial launch of DAB+ in Paris, Nice and Marseille, a major step change in the deployment of DAB+ in France takes place on 12 October 2021. 25 national radios stations (19 commercial, 6 public) will launch, covering the major motorway corridors of Paris-Lyon-Marseille. These 25 radios are in addition to the hundreds of radio stations already available regionally and locally on DAB+, and bringing DAB+ coverage to over 30% of the French population. This launch is complemented by further new regional deployments taking place in Dijon, Avignon, Toulon as well as new multiplexes going on air in the major city of Marseille.

Radioworld asked Pom Malhotra, senior director of Connected Services at Audi of America, what impact they expect on the digital radio marketplace from Google’s aspirations for Android Automotive: "Android gives listeners the ability to download their preferred internet radio apps via an online store in their vehicle. However, customers will choose their infotainment options based on the attractiveness of content, which means there will always be room for broadcast radio as long as it delivers a competitive listening experience."

RadioDNS continues to grow as a global organisation defining and promoting open standards for hybrid radio. Their technical group is developing new hybrid radio functionality, and the Automotive Workshops, organised with WorldDAB, bring broadcasters and manufacturers together to solve implementation issues for broadcast radio in vehicles.

President Miloš Zeman has signed an amendment to the Electronic Communications Act, which opens the way for Czech Radio to its own DAB+ digital network. As Jiří Duchač from the Czech Telecommunications Office stated at the Digimedia 2021 conference, the regulator would like to allocate two nationwide and probably two regional DAB + networks next year. This will be preceded by a public consultation. International frequency coordination must also be completed, especially in Slovakia.

Eduardo Montefusco, President of RDS and of the DAB Italia consortium said in a recent interview: “I often hear that DAB+ is the future of radio while it is already the present of the evolution of radio. DAB+ is a revolution in progress, which already covers 83% of the Italian population for outdoor and mobile reception, especially by car. Today we know that DAB+ is in almost 8,100,000 car receivers which will probably exceed the 9 million mark at the end of the year."

Public broadcaster MDR has expanded its DAB+ transmitter network to further improve DAB+ coverage in the region. The expansion improves digital radio reception in buildings for around 85,000 households in the region - mobile reception in the area is already at around 99 percent.

LGBTQ+ station Gorgeous Radio, established in Wolverhampton, England, has launched in Ireland using DAB+. The service is now part of the line-up on FreeDAB, heard in some of the major cities across the Republic. FreeDAB is currently the only service offering space on a DAB multiplex and carries a number of stations including Dublin’s ABC, Fusion Radio, Shine, Release DAB, Angel Vintage, Kream DAB, Juice and Fire Radio. The mux launched in 2019 but was raided by the Garda in 2020 when it fell silent. It has since resumed broadcasting.

The Q3 issue of the ABU's Technical Review includes a feature on the DAB adoption process, outlining the formal steps required, including legislation that supports licensing of the use of radio frequency spectrum. The article discusses the roles of the various stakeholders in the adoption process, including Regulators, broadcasters and network and transmission providers, noting that each country has its own preferences. Also outlined are the activities which need to be undertaken including the formation of industry bodies and committees, business case analysis, licensing options and public consultations.

Nicki Shields is the host of the BBC’s FIA Formula E Championship – the electric street racing series – and the anchor for several shows across CNN. This year’s WorldDAB Summit on Nov. 9, 2021 is a live, online event from 10:00-15:00 CET. Part of the line-up includes the findings of a significant piece of global research commissioned by WorldDAB and carried out by Edison Research on what consumers want from their car radio.