News

Norway is now the first country in the world to initiate the digital switchover from FM radio broadcasting to DAB+. National FM networks will be phased out gradually throughout 2017, region by region, starting with Nordland and ending with the Troms and Finnmark regions, which will complete the process in December.

At 11.11am the FM broadcasting signal in the Arctic county of Nordland was shut down as NRK, the public broadcaster, and other commercial broadcasters switched over to digital audio broadcasting (DAB).

When the Norwegian government announced the FM network shutdown in 2015, it blamed the country’s topography, which is characterized by steep mountains, deep valleys and more than thousand fiords. It said running an FM network was around eight times more expensive than digital.

DAB is going to provide citizens in Norway with better choice and enhanced audio quality. There will be more than 20 national channels on DAB as opposed to the five currently offered on FM radio.

In a bold move, Norway today will become the first country in the world to start shutting down its FM radio network in favour of digital radio. Norway today will become the first country in the world to start shutting down its FM radio network in favour of digital radio, a bold move watched closely by other countries around Europe.

By the end of the year, Norwegian radio will be 100% digital. A financially and technologically obvious choice, but which does not appeal to all listeners.

There are now 30 nationwide DAB+ channels on the air in Norway, with five new channels launched to celebrate the beginning of the digital switchother. NRK Traffic, P9 Retro, P10 Country, Vinyl and Top 40 are new Norwegian radio channels available from January 11th.

"Today's digital switchover is a hugely important milestone for the radio industry," said Patrick Hannon, President, WorldDAB. "The DAB platform is far more efficient than FM – offering both greater choice and clearer sound. With the start of the switch-over process, Norway is sending a clear signal across the world that the future of radio is digital."

Laurence Harrison, Market Development Director, Digital Radio UK reflects on the digital switchover events in Norway. A calm sea, fishing boats, no snow, and even something resembling daylight provided the backdrop to the long anticipated FM switch off in Nordland. The moment that Digital Radio Norway have been working towards for over five years was marked by a perfectly pitched ceremony at Bodø Library which was broadcast live on national television.

Norway has become the first country to switch off FM radio despite concerns about the move being premature. The northern county of Nordland stopped broadcasting using analogue frequencies on Wednesday as the Government plans to roll out digital-only radio over the course of the year.