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DAB+ will offer a way to balance Austria’s radio market, where public broadcaster ORF currently has 70% market share, by giving all players equal access to national network coverage. Wolfgang Struber, MD of Radio Arabella, said “It is worth noting that for ORF to broadcast a programme with 85% coverage via DAB+ it would cost approximately €150,000 a year. For a commercial radio station to achieve 95% coverage on FM the cost would be about €3.5m”. He recommended the inclusion of DAB+ (alongside FM) in all devices in the home and in-car, and that digital switch over could be considered once there is sufficient DAB+ receiver penetration.

The look is very much of the mid-20th century and in a retro setting it should fit right in. Of course, the inner workings are pure modern era, DAB radio reception, 20 station presets, a 3.5mm auxiliary input for playback of external audio devices and mains or battery power.

Radioplayer’s new in-car hybrid radio solution, Radioplayer Car, will come with travel news tailored to users. Radioplayer Car chooses the best platform for any given radio station, seamlessly delivering it to the vehicle using DAB, FM or streaming, meaning drivers keep hearing their chosen station in maximum quality as they travel.

This new model includes DAB digital radio and satellite navigation.

At its meeting on 29 June in Berlin, the German-French Radio Commission requested the German and the French Governments to ask EU Institutions to assist with EU-wide market development of digital radio, by making it mandatory for all new radio receivers sold to be equipped with DAB+. This is particularly relevant for the automotive industry, to future-proof all new vehicles.

The car comes with bi-xenon headlights, a 6.5-inch colour display, DAB radio and 10-speaker hi-fi.

The Multimedia Pro package which includes professional navigation, 20GB hard drive, voice recognition and touch controller, Harman Kardon 12-speaker audio, head up display and DAB+ digital radio.

The Minister of Culture in Norway has confirmed digitizing radio will not be postponed until the neighboring countries have moved to digital. Therefore the proposed dates for the digital switchover will remain the same.

The widespread adoption of DAB+ depends primarily on the availability of affordable entry-level devices for customers to choose from. This a great entry level digital radio and costs 50 Euro.

Listening to digital radio has skyrocketed with an increase of 74 percent compared to 2015. Bavarian households now own 1.48 million digital radios. The number of people who have a DAB+ device in their home has nearly doubled from 550,000 to 1.088 million (98 percent growth). DAB+ in the car has also seen an increase of 31 percent to 392,000 units.