News

Eivind Engberg, CTO of Twentyfirst Venture AS and chief engineer of three stations in Norway: Radio Metro, The Beat and Radio Rox discusses the benefits and potential challenges of the upcoming digital switchover in Norway.

A new era for radio is heralded this week as Norway becomes the first country in the world to begin the process of switching off national FM transmissions to complete the transition to fully digital radio services. The FM-switch off takes place on Wednesday 11 January and will be marked by an international ceremony attended by senior radio and media policy figures including the Norwegian Secretary of State, Bård Folke Fredriksen; Paul Keenan, CEO Bauer Media UK and the Nordics; and Graham Dixon, Head of Radio, European Broadcasting Union.

Laurence Harrison, Market Development Director, Digital Radio UK, arrives in Norway for the big DAB event.Tuesday sees a conference with the great and the good from Norwegian radio plus international guest speakers. Then follows on Wednesday morning at 11.11.11am (10.11.11am in the UK) the big FM switch off moment with the Norwegian Secretary of State, Bård Folke Fredriksen.

The comparatively low costs of Small Scale DAB make it possible that even financially weaker local radio stations can spread their program via DAB+. The broadcasting of event radios or campus radios, which is limited in time and place, is also possible.

At CES. Ford Motor Co. Executive Director of Connected Vehicles and Services Don Butler, noted how the consumption of radio remains a constant. “When we look at surveys, more than half our users and owners continue to listen to radio inside the vehicle, and we don’t see that changing. We still want to make sure we provide broadly accessible means of entertainment and information to people and radio plays a huge part in that as well.”

In 2016, 2.28 million new cars were sold with a digital radio, the first time the two million mark has been breached. Digital technology allows motorists to access over 400 radio stations, and will become an increasingly important in-car feature with the Government committed to switching off the UK’s analogue radio coverage once DAB coverage reaches 50% of listeners – currently coverage stands at 45.5%.

Under the motto "only the latest hits!" the station wants to compete above with the other established FM radio stations in Berlin. It is mainly aimed at the ever-growing group of digital radio owners and listeners in Germany.

During the last week of December, the Flemish Parliament approved the new plan of the Flemish Media Minister Gatz, which provides a focus on digital radio in the Flanders region.While the big news from Norway is that the FM shutdowns will start during the week of January 9th. At the end of December, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine National Council decided to contact the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine regarding amendments to the plan for radio frequency resources throughout the country.

This week, FM broadcasts in one area of Norway finally fall silent. The majority of radio stations move over to broadcast on DAB+, alongside online and DTV. But why bother with broadcast radio, people are asking, when streaming is all we need? Let’s do the maths.

Norway switches off its analogue FM radio networks in January 2017 in favor of terrestrial digital radio DAB+. On the 11th of January at 11.11 am the first switchover will take place in the province of Nordland as part of a ceremony in Bodø.