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Norway is the first country in the world to switch off its analogue radio signals. Ford Ennals, chief executive of Digital Radio UK, defends the decision on the Today programme, saying FM stations are "full up". He argues that to make way for innovative new stations we need to move to digital, which he calls "the future".

Laurence Harrison, Market Development Director, Digital Radio UK reflect on his trip to Norway ahead of the digital switchover.

“A digital radio wave moving across Europe, with Norway leading the way,” is how Patrick Hannon, WorldDAB president, described Wednesday’s switch-off of FM broadcasts in Nordland county.

Today, Norway will start shutting down analogue radio signals nationally, becoming the first nation in the world to broadcast digital radio only.

The Norwegian government has said the cost savings will let broadcasters invest more in programming, and give listeners a better and more reliable sound that will be more easily receivable in a country with lots of mountains and rocks.

The Norwegian government has said the cost savings will let broadcasters invest more in programming, and give listeners a better and more reliable sound that will be more easily receivable in a country with lots of mountains and rocks.

The decision to completely switch off all FM services is not one which has been taken lightly by Norway’s government, and was announced two years ago in April 2015 with the process to begin this month, in January 2017.

The digital switchover doesn't mean there is suddenly FM silence across Norway. If you switched off everything at once everywhere there would probably be difficulties. The digital switchover is a year long process. Norway is divided into regions and the switch off will happen region by region.

Francis Goffin from RTBF explores the progress of DAB+ in Belgium and the possibilty of hosting their own digital switchover in the coming years.

The 11th of January 2017 at 11: 11 marks an important milestone for radio in Norway and for radio in general. Norway is indeed the first country that has decided to stop broadcasting in FM.