Country Information for DAB, DAB+ and DMB - Updates Overview
Mexico - 
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10-06-2009
In Mexico broadcasters have shown an interest in Eureka 147 as part of a multi-standard market. The Mexican regulator, COFETEL, is expected to announce a decision on the digital radio technology standard of choice for this country by the end of 2009.
Israel - 
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10-06-2009
The Israeli Ministry of Communication announced the tender for a permanent DAB+ country-wide licence in 2008. It will be for a period of 14 years and the winning bidder is expected to initially make provision for 36 channels and achieve a coverage area of 80%.
Vietnam - 
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10-06-2009
Broadtech SC, a subsidiary of VTV has had a DMB trial on-air in Hanoi since September 2008. VTV is planning to launch a commercial DMB service in September this year.
Taiwan, Republic of China - 
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10-06-2009
The commercial broadcaster in Taiwan, Super FM, will become the first to launch DAB+ services in this region with three audio channels and one DMB multi-media video based service, a trial is planned for May 2009.
United Kingdom - 
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10-06-2009
Rajar figures released in early May show that 32% of adults in the country own a DAB radio, which is equivalent to one in three British. More than a fifth of all radio listening in the UK is via a digital platform. Cumulative DAB sales to the end of 2008 were 8.53 million. With over 2 million products sold in 2008, this is up 3% year-on-year. The entry price for a DAB radio has fallen this year to under £15, although the average price remains higher. At the end of January 2009, Lord Carter published the interim Digital Britain report. This follows on from the government’s Digital Radio Working Group report which published its own recommendations for the digital future of radio in the UK last year. This report included a set of criteria to lead to analogue switch off of digital radio, once these conditions are met it is hoped that the government should announced a date for digital migration. The Digital Radio Working Group suggested that these criteria could be met between 2015 and 2020 and therefore a switchover could occur as early as 2017.
South Korea - 
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10-06-2009
As the first country to commercially launch mobile TV, South Korea and is one of the most successful markets in the world with almost 20 million devices sold. Of these devices the most popular are mobile phones followed by navigation systems and PDAs. There are six major broadcasters providing a variety of services to the South Korean market including mobile TV services and new data applications such as BIFS. TPEG services are also available giving the consumer traffic and travel information. There are a couple of hundred DMB devices available in this market and usage of mobile TV increases year on year in this region. Interactive services are also growing in popularity adding value to broadcasting services. The Korean government has set up a digital audio project to recommend a digital audio broadcasting standard for Korea
Sweden - 
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10-06-2009
There are currently four cities where DAB is broadcast with the following stations on-air; Radio Atlas, Sisuradio Minnen, P3 Star teenagers, SR Klassiskt, P1 talk and news channel simulcast and temporary channels include Eurovision, All Christmas station, Olympic station some simulcast. DAB is on-air today, however DAB receivers cannot be marketed and commercial players cannot get licences. However after two years of research a favourable report was made by the Radio & TV Authority on the future of digital radio in Sweden recommending DAB+ as the system of choice for Sweden. DAB+ trials have begun in Sweden in 2009 and it is hoped a decision on digital radio will be made by the end of 2009.
Singapore - 
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10-06-2009
There are currently 13 DAB services on-air and Singapore central has 99% coverage. MediaCorp Radio, the national broadcasters, is keen to push digital radio. In June 2008, the commercial operator, Rediffusion, launched commercial DAB+ services on a subscription basis. The line up included 22 audio channels, including stations from around the world and commercial-free services. Rediffusion plans to add four new transmitters to its network before the end of the year. There is also an on-going DMB multimedia data service trial showing the local traffic road condition and a trial Traffic News DAB channel based on automated text-to-speech conversion. Various operators in Singapore have announced their plans for commercial mobile TV services.
Poland - 
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10-06-2009
Radio Wroclaw, a public broadcaster, and TP Emitel, a national infrastructure operator, launched the country’s first DAB+ multiplex in May 2009 in the city of Wroclaw. This first pilot is planned to last for six months, after which time the stakeholders will transform the tests into a commercial a launch. The pilot has obtained support from the National Broadcasting Council, who will play a key role in the decision for the country’s future in digital broadcasting.
Norway - 
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10-06-2009
There are currently two national DAB multiplexes, one of which is split into seven regions. The coverage is now more than 80%. At the end of 2007 DAB coverage expanded in Norway to offer more than twice the number of FM programmes to many rural areas. The networks carry 26 DAB services, 17% of the population has access to one or more DAB radios and DAB is already established in more than 20 road tunnels. There are about 290,000 DAB receivers in the market and FM shut down is planned when 50% of the population has access to a digital radio. The three biggest broadcasters in Norway, NRK, TV 2 and MTG, have set up their own company in order to launch mobile TV via DMB (MiniTV), which became a reality on the 15th May 2009. The initial offering consists of six live TV channels, on demand content and other related services. NMTV has begun its broadcasts in greater Oslo, an area covering 30% of the Norwegian population. DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) is seen as the best technology in Norway due to cost efficient coverage of large and rural areas.