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ICASA said that even though analogue medium wave (AM) frequencies are ample, the sound quality is generally poor, with higher transmission costs. ICASA said that even though FM still offers good quality sound, spectrum scarcity and high transmission costs necessitate consideration for digital sound broadcasting services

EBU Members gathered in Polish Radio’s headquarters in Warsaw for a regional workshop on Digital Transformation on April 4th and 5th. Topics that were discussed included digitizing archives, exploring digital innovation (such as DAB+, podcasts, and live streams), restructuring their organizations to be more adept to change, and much more.

ICASA has published the findings of its inquiry into the deployment of digital radio in South Africa, stating that spectrum scarcity and high transmission costs necessitate the consideration of digital radio. ICASA will develop draft regulation on implementation during the current financial year (2019/20).

Speaking on SCA choosing not to sell DAB capacity separately from FM, Grant Blackley highlighted that providing advertising space across both DAB and FM stations was appealing to advertisers.

In this podcast, Radioinfo's Wayne Stamm speaks to Norsk Radio CEO Ole Jorgen Torvmark about the lessons learnt in the first year following the digital switchover.

Speaking at SIRTI's annual event, president Alain Liberty touched on the progress DAB+ has made over the past year in France, the invaluable support of independent radio stations - 71 of which currently broadcast in DAB+ - in helping drive DAB+ adoption, and how DAB+ is key to keeping the traditional broadcasting model alive.

Speaking at the annual independent radio union (SIRTI) meeting, Nicolas Curien welcomed the progress made by DAB+ in France over the past year, highlighting that the next priority for the CSA and its “nodes and arcs” strategy would be to make DAB+ available in smaller regions across France.

Norway opened the second day of the Radiodays Europe with a presentation titled: ‘Beyond FM – the new normal’, where Ole Jorgen Torvmark, who discussed Norway's successful transition to digital radio, was joined on stage by Arqiva’s Head of New Technology Simon Mason and Iso Reichsteiner, Project Manager of the DSO process in Switzerland.

More room is being made for local and regional channels on the band for DAB+ digital radio in the Netherlands following an agreement reached between the government and broadcasting sector. The change of frequency layers will take place in phases and be completed by 1 September 2022 at the latest.

Speaking at the annual event, the French regulator's new president, Roch-Olivier Maistre, expressed his support for DAB+ radio, highlighting the need to bring everyone together to educate consumers and promote DAB+ digital radio across the all platforms.