WorldDAB at MBT 2025 Conference – Opatija, Croatia

23.05.2025 by Bernie O'Neill

The 23rd MBT Conference, held this week in beautiful Opatija, Croatia, from 21 - 23 May 2025, welcomed over 200 delegates from 23 countries. The event continues to grow year after year, and this year was particularly special as the host, Croatia's OIV, celebrated its 99th year of operation. The conference delegates were welcomed by OIV's CEO, Mate Botica, and the newly elected President of the MBT Association, Mihael Jančić.

Keynote by Lars Backlund – Broadcast Networks Europe

The opening keynote was delivered by Lars Backlund, secretary-general of Broadcast Networks Europe (BNE), who emphasised the importance of innovating and preparing for the long-term future of terrestrial broadcasting. BNE is focused on ensuring the continued availability of the sub-700 MHz spectrum for broadcasting well beyond 2030. This investment in broadcast networks can offer benefits for listeners, broadcasters and society, such as Automatic Safety Alerts (ASA) on DAB+.

Why preserve UHF spectrum for broadcasting?

Backlund further emphasised that preserving the UHF spectrum for broadcasting is essential for ensuring citizen-focused access, fair market conditions, support for European culture and businesses, public service accountability, and a green, sovereign digital future for Europe.

Don’t forget radio

A powerful reminder of the importance of broadcast radio came during the discussion about a recent power outage in Spain and Portugal, where mobile networks failed within hours. Broadcast radio, however, remained a reliable - and often the only - source of information for millions of citizens. Radio remains a trusted platform that shines in emergencies and plays a key role in public communication.

Top benefits of ASA

In her presentation, WorldDAB Project Director Bernie O’Neill outlined the three key features which set ASA apart and why it is now rolling out:

• Location coding – down to a resolution of  ~1 km²
• New signalling – tailored for alerting, with incident and location information
• Receiver synchronisation – minimises audio loss and preserves battery

Panel discussion highlights

The panel discussion that followed was dynamic and emphasised the shared agreement among mobile operators, infrastructure experts, national authorities and broadcasters on the need for national-level integration of emergency alert systems. All stakeholders acknowledged the importance of coordinated efforts to ensure safety and timely communication during incidents.

Alexander Kurz, Sales Director EMEA, GatesAir

Cost and energy efficiency: FM vs DAB+

WorldDAB members GatesAir and TRedess gave compelling presentations on the energy efficiency and cost benefits of DAB+ compared to FM broadcasting - highlighting transmitter efficiency improvements, energy-saving algorithms, and the successful integration of SFN gap fillers.

Alexander Kurz from GatesAir highlighted a comparative analysis showing that DAB+ radio stations could be broadcast with significantly lower power and energy consumption than FM. Kurz showed an example where for the same coverage, a DAB+ network broadcasting 18 stations would consume only only 6.25 kW of energy vs. FM’s 250 kW, offering a potential annual energy cost saving of over $320,000.

Meanwhile Luis Grela of TRedess explained how transmitter manufacturers can help network operators reduce energy consumption at sites. Factors such as compactness, redundancy, easy operation and maintenance can lead to cost savings, additional energy savings and environmental benefits. 

Luis Grela, Managing Director at TRedess

WorldDAB is proud to be an integral part of the MBT community. This excellent event continues to be a critical hub for regional broadcaster networking, technical collaboration, and innovation in Central and Southeast Europe. We look forward to returning for MBT Conference 2026, taking place in North Macedonia.