News

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.

The IZT DAB ContentServer is the central component of the pilot project “Dynamic Reconfiguration” in Bavaria, which uses the flexibility of DAB to broadcast five local programs on the three channels available on the multiplex.“The DAB signalling allows a dynamic allocation of station IDs to the available subchannel capacities,” says Arne Borsum, Product Manager at IZT GmbH.

According to the annual report published by the German automobile trust, 54% of new cars sold in Germany in 2019 were equipped with digital radio - a 34 percent increase compared to 2018. Sales of consumer radios in Germany also reached 1.5 million in 2019, a 6.6% increase compared to the previous year.

According to the annual report published by the German automobile trust, 54% of new cars sold in Germany in 2019 were equipped with digital radio - a 34 percent increase compared to 2018. Sales of consumer radios in Germany also reached 1.5 million in 2019, a 6.6% increase compared to the previous year.

This document outlines Germany's new national legislation on digital radio in English. According to the revised law, all radios in new cars should be capable of receiving digital terrestrial radio from 21st Dec 2020 – as required by the European Electronic Communications Code. The law also requires all new consumer radios, capable of displaying a station’s name, to be able to receive digital signals (for example, DAB+ or IP) – from the same date.

Algerian Minister for Communications Ammar Belhimer has announced that the switch from analogue to digital TV will be taking place by 17 June 2020, highlighting that this will enable the deployment of DAB+ digital radio services in the country.

French public radio service Radio France Internationale (RFI) is set to launch on DAB+ in Marseille, as well as Bordeaux and Toulouse in coming months. The popular radio station is already available to DAB+ listeners in Lille, Lyon and Strasbourg.

Companies interested in rolling out DAB+ digital radio in Spain have called on regional governments to launch calls for tenders for DAB+ licences. 17 autonomous regions are currently concerned - in four of those (Asturias, Navarra, La Rioja and Madrid) the Supreme Court has ruled in favour of a call for tenders, while in the Basque Country and the Canary Islands, the decision has ruled against it.

Commenting on the launch, Bauer Media President of Audio Paul Keenan said “Connected radio in combination with DAB distribution has enabled us to extend our reach, so we have been able to offer listeners more choice, allow listeners more control and enable the super fans an unadulterated, pure experience. Absolute Radio 20s is a perfect example of this.”