News

The Institut für Rundfunktechnik and the Bayerische Rundfunk will begin testing components for small-scale DAB in Munich. Small-scale DAB transmission systems for DAB+ can be realised at a comparatively low cost in the low-power range. This technique is suitable for local or temporally limited broadcasting of radio stations or for event radio stations.

Today in Switzerland, one third of households already have a DAB+ radio. To encourage others to switch to DAB+, Ofcom has launched a two-year information campaign to educate the public about the switch to DAB+. After a call for tender, the responsibility for leading the campaign was entrusted to the media agency Republica.

A connected car radio has been launched in the UK by Radioplayer. With a long-term aim to share learnings with auto manufacturers, Radioplayer Car is an aftermarket-installed device to existing car dashboards, and offers FM, DAB and IP in one unit.

Digidia and Clearbox Systems have announced they have entered an agreement for Clearbox Systems to represent Digidia’s DAB and Synchronous FM product lines in Australia.

With voice control being the hot new thing, radio heads will be happy to hear that the first 'smart radio' system has just launched. The system will automatically switch between DAB, FM or streaming radio, depending on which is the strongest signal at the time.

As of 2020, regional radio broadcasters will be given more autonomy in urban areas, since they will no longer be subject to a concession with a service contract. This proposal is part of the draft regulation of the Radio and Television Regulations (RTVV), which has been sent to the Department for Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC). The new proposal also sets the course for the switchover of FM to digital DAB+ transmissions.

Latvian Radio began testing DAB+ in late 2016, they have now announced that the DAB+ trials will be extended to 60 kilometers around Riga, enabling even more listeners to tune in. The number of DAB+ programmes available has also grown from 6 to 11.

DAB+ is spreading in Eastern Europe. In December 2016 in Latvia the state-owned radio broadcaster LVRTC started DAB+ tests. Latvia is the seventh Eastern European country in which digital terrestrial radio has been introduced. Ukraine may be the next country in eastern Europe to launch DAB+ tests.

The hours people spent listening to digital radio in the UK increased by 51.3 million hours in comparison with the 4th quarter of 2015. Today, the share of DAB digital radio accounts for one third of all radio listening.

Recent figures from the Foundation Elektronikkbransjen in Norway speak for themselves. In 2015, 740,000 DAB+ radios were sold in Norway, the figure increased to 965,000 in 2016 ahead of the digital switchover.