News

At the ABU Digital Broadcasting Summit, Commercial Radio Australia CEO Joan Warner highlighted the ongoing work being done in Australia to expand the offerings of digital radio, and announced that Gold Coast will be the next city in Australia to introduce DAB+ broadcasts.

France's popular radio station aimed at children is now available in Paris and Marseille, the two most populated cities in the country. Radio Pitchoun is already available in Nice and the Côte d'Azur, Lyon, Mâcon, Strasbourg, Nantes, La Roche-sur-Yon and Rouen, with launches planned in more cities in the coming months.

Dutch spectrum regulator Agentschap Telecom said local public or commercial broadcasters will be able to apply for local DAB+ licences starting from 10 March. Local public or commercial broadcasters can apply for a license for 22 allotments, which together cover a part of the Netherlands.

With three national and several local DAB+ multiplexes on air today in Italy, about 83% of the Italian population can receive digital radio broadcasts. The March issue of Radio World International takes a look at how one of the national consortiums, DAB Italia, is working to expand the country’s digital services.

The German audio manufacturer Sonoro will be honored with the Plus X 2020 Award for "Retailer of the Year" in the "Consumer Electronics Audio" field, having previously picked up the award in 2016, 2018 and 2019.

ARD, Deutschlandradio, private broadcasters and other key members of the Digital Radio Germany association are launching a campaign to promote DAB+. The campaign will run across TV and radio from between 14-26 April.

Africa Radio has started broadcasting on DAB+ technology in Marseille and the surrounding region. The station, which is already available on DAB+ in Paris, Lyon, Lille, Strasbourg, Nantes, Rouen, Le Havre and Saint-Nazaire, is also set to launch in Nice, Toulouse and Bordeaux in coming years.

Antenne Deutschland's launch of Germany's second national multiplex - the first exclusively dedicated to commercial radio stations - will take place in September 2019 during IFA Berlin. Antenne Deutschland has commissioned National German Radio to launch a call for tenders for the capacity allocation on the multiplex - more details set to be published in early March.

Media Minister John Whittingdale has announced the scope of the Digital Radio and Audio Review that will examine the issues facing radio in the next decade as the digital revolution continues at pace. The digital radio and audio review will examine future trends and consider how radio should adapt to changing listening habits.

As the development of 5G continues to progress, its potential to support and maintain radio broadcast is increasingly being researched. Drawing on expert opinion, this factsheet aims to inform readers on the potential implications of 5G for radio, and whether it presents a viable solution for radio broadcasting.The document introduces and defines key terminology around 5G as well as a number of functionality concepts regarding the use of 5G for radio, including access, service reliability, transmitter power, frequencies and signal distance.