News

The Dutch Digital Infrastructure Inspectorate (RDI) has once again issued four new DAB+ licences. These are intended for local commercial use. Three of the four new broadcasting licences have been issued to Aarkal B.V., the company behind the radio station Suc6. This means that the radio station will be available via DAB+ in part of Zeeland and most of North Brabant. Broadcasting will take place via allotments 49, 50 and 51. These are three contiguous allotments, which means that Aarkal B.V. meets the strict conditions imposed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the RDI on licences for local commercial DAB+ use. Allotment 50 in particular has a wide coverage. The transmitter is located in Breda and covers a large area.

Launched at the end of 2025 by maRadio.be, the ‘Listen to your ears’ campaign aims to support the development of digital radio in the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. Rolled out since January across all channels, it brings together all French-speaking Belgian radio stations around a common message designed to encourage listening to DAB+. Entitled ‘Listen to your ears’, this campaign is based on a central message: radio remains radio, but better thanks to digital technology. It is part of a collective approach, bringing together players in the sector around a shared objective: to firmly establish digital listening in listeners' daily habits. As part of this campaign, a new website has been launched at www.ecoutezvosoreilles.be.

WorldDAB has launched a fully updated second edition of its ground-breaking ebook, "Establishing DAB+ Digital Broadcast Radio," to coincide with World Radio Day 2026 (13 February). The book offers a unique, in-depth guide to the regulatory, technical and commercial aspects of establishing a successful DAB+ digital radio service. The second edition comes three years on from the original publication, and now includes additional expert guidance on new Automatic Safety Alert (ASA), and hybrid radio features, regulation and licensing models, guidance on transmission site design for cost minimisation.

13 February is World Radio Day. For more than 100 years, radio has been a trusted source of information. Even in the digital age, the medium remains relevant: DAB+ radio, the digital successor to FM, ensures that future generations will also have free and non-discriminatory access to relevant news. The DAB+ digital radio standard provides a modern, robust and energy-efficient transmission path that continues to function even when other infrastructures fail. The new automatic system for safety information via DAB+ – Automatic Safety Alert (ASA) – which is currently being successfully tested in Germany, consistently exploits the strengths of DAB+ in civil protection.

This month, we spotlight one of WorldDAB’s newest members: ITEL Elettronica e Telecomunicazioni, a company blending decades of audio‑processing expertise with a forward‑looking approach to DAB innovation. In our conversation with Fabio Placidi, Technical & Sales Manager, we explore why ITEL chose to join the WorldDAB community, how their deep roots in broadcast audio shape their DAB solutions, and what they’ve learned from projects spanning Italy to Turkey, Tunisia, and beyond. From redundancy‑driven design philosophy to hands‑on problem solving in diverse markets, ITEL shares what sets them apart—and the advice they offer broadcasters preparing to deploy DAB+.

The R25 regional digital radio network, which broadcasts Energic, Seejay, and WorldRadio stations, is preparing for a major expansion of its coverage in the Vysočina region. The new key point for signal distribution will be the Jihlava – Hosov location, which will offer 10 kW of power to ensure stable reception. This step is part of Fiera touch's broader strategy in the field of DAB+. The technical parameters of the new transmitter correspond to the category of long-range stations, which is confirmed by the planned output of 10 kW, as reported in the database of the Czech Telecommunications Office. The signal will be transmitted on frequency block 6B, with the antenna system using vertical signal polarization.

Steve Ahern writes: J’adore Paris et Paris adore la radio. I love Paris, and Paris loves radio. The annual Paris Radio Show is a tribute to the radio medium, but, as with other celebrations of radio in the modern era, it is not nostalgic, it is looking forward to new audiences and new ways of engaging them with audio. This year the show began with a snapshot of audio consumption across radio and podcasts and a look at how all forms of audio are performing in France. DAB+ in France now covers over 80% of motorways and is well listened to by commuters. Public and private broadcasters are now heavily promoting DAB+ receivers. “DAB+ is undeniably adding value for listeners, delivering a more attractive audio landscape in a soverign framework.”

While the world obsesses over streaming apps and podcasts, the Kingdom has been quietly building something that may surprise the digital-first generation: a state-of-the-art broadcast radio network. And it’s expanding at remarkable speed. DAB+ has now expanded to nine additional cities across the Kingdom and covers major highway corridors connecting them. Since its launch in August 2023, the technology has evolved from a pilot project into core national infrastructure. This progress will be prominently showcased at the Saudi Media Forum 2026, offering a clear picture of how far digital radio has advanced in a short time.

Today RAJAR announced 50.0 million adults or 86% of the adult (15+) UK population tuned in to their selected radio stations each week in the fourth quarter of 2025. The total average number of weekly hours listened to radio for this Quarter is 1.015 billion hours. In terms of reach 44 million adults aged 15+ are now tuning in to radio via a digitally enabled platform (DAB, DTV, Website/App, or Smart Speaker) each week. 75% of the population tune in to digital radio every week. In an average week, digital listening accounts for 757 million hours; DAB has a 56% share of digital listening hours, Smart speaker 25%, Website/Apps 15%, and DTV 4%.

DAB+ is now well established in Saudi Arabia following a successful launch in August 2023. It will again be part of the upcoming Saudi Media Forum. Last year, the network expanded to nine more cities and additional major highways. Across the wider region, Bahrain also launched DAB+ in 2023, and Kuwait was one of the earliest adopters in the region back in 2014, with 15 stations now on air. WorldDAB works closely with regional organisations such as the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU), including the development of the specific set of Arabic characters used in the ASBU profile within the WorldDAB digital radio standard.