News

‘Ensemble pour le DAB+’ wants to step up the promotion of DAB+ in France next year. It unveiled its ‘proactive plan’ to raise awareness of the digital terrestrial radio broadcasting standard among professionals and the general public, at a meeting on 16 December attended by a wide range of players in the sector (retail, automotive, institutional, etc.). In particular, the association plans to step up its communication campaigns in 2025: four campaigns staggered over February, May, August and the end of the year. They will highlight DAB+, the purchase of compatible receivers at home and the use of this technology in the car. Communication tools will be made available to shops and dealerships, and campaigns on radio stations' social networks will round off the campaign.

Frontier is delighted to announce that our DAB+ receiver solutions have passed the Automatic Safety Alert (ASA) certification, marking a key milestone to launching the safety system in 2025. ASA is a new standard for safety that builds on top of the DAB+ standard and allows life-saving messages to be reliably broadcast to users. Germany is planning to be the first country to start DAB+ ASA broadcasting in 2025. Combined with Digital Tick, the ASA certification ensures that DAB+ receivers are fully compliant with the broadcast standard and provides comfort that receivers will respond correctly and in a timely manner to emergency broadcasts. Combined with Digital Tick, the ASA certification ensures that DAB+ receivers are fully compliant with the broadcast standard and provides comfort that receivers will respond correctly and in a timely manner to emergency broadcasts. Prem Rajalingham, Managing Director at Frontier said “this is an important milestone in the global rollout of ASA . Brands can now create DAB receivers that support the standard and can pass the tests knowing that the core technology has been approved”.

Broadcast Partners is proud to contribute to one of the most iconic lighting installations in the Netherlands: the largest Christmas tree in IJsselstein. Combining our expertise in broadcasting technology with innovative solutions, we support this impressive project so that it comes to life safely and efficiently every year. Since its first creation in 1992, the Christmas tree has developed into a true spectacle that attracts visitors from all over the country every year. The 366-metre mast in IJsselstein, which also serves as an important DAB+ radio mast, is transformed into a gigantic light installation. This requires a precise balance between functionality and appearance. This is where Broadcast Partners plays an important role: we ensure that the radio signal remains undisturbed and work can be done safely, while the lighting shines without any problems.

Radio entrepreneur Bas Emons has leased bandwidth for his radio station GOD Radio from service provider MTVNL. As a result, the station can now be heard on DAB+ channel 7D from the mast in IJsselstein, Utrecht - better known as Lopik. The 372-metre-high mast ensures good reception in large parts of the central Netherlands and the Randstad region.

České Radiokomunikace (CRA) is about to launch its third regional network for terrestrial digital commercial radio. After Prague and Plzeň, where it has switched the frequencies of the existing temporary CRA DAB+ network, it is now planning to launch a new transmitter in Liberec. CRA is launching the first transmitters of its regional DAB+ networks before the launch of its nationwide radio multiplex B. After Prague and Pilsen, it will be Liberec's turn. There, CRA will start broadcasting from Jested on channel 7B with a power of 0.8 kW, launching Regional Network 4, which is to gradually cover not only Liberec, but also the Ústí nad Karlovy Vary region.

DAB+ radio has reached significant milestones in 2024: The new ASA warning system, which will be available from summer 2025, will strengthen civil protection through digital terrestrial radio. Despite a challenging market environment, interest in DAB+ is growing among providers and listeners. In Switzerland, SRG will complete the switch to DAB+ digital radio by the end of the year, while radio stations in Schleswig-Holstein will switch from analogue to digital by 2031. After two years of intensive co-operation, the WorldDAB association and Digitalradio Deutschland e.V. are presenting an exemplary innovation for DAB+ digital radio: The ‘Automatic Safety Alert (ASA)’ warning system, which protects the population in emergencies and crises and reliably transmits safety messages digitally on the radio without an internet connection.

South Herts small-scale DAB is getting ready to launch next year across South Hertfordshire and parts of North London. The two-site Single Frequency Network (SFN) will provide coverage across South Hertfordshire, reaching key towns and communities while overlapping into several North London boroughs. Owners are now actively inviting expressions of interest from broadcasters seeking to reach South Hertfordshire from February 25th 2025. A South Herts DAB Representative told RadioToday: “This is a significant milestone for digital radio in South Hertfordshire. Our state-of-the-art network will not only enhance listening options for audiences but also provide an invaluable platform for broadcasters to grow their reach.”

The final survey of the year last week saw the return of Elf Radio to the DAB+ airwaves once again this year. Santa has shared his approved high rotation category with us via his CEO (Chief Elf Operator) Shannon Fong, and we can reveal that the top songs being played on the North Pole’s number one hit music station this year are: Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas? – 2024 Ultimate Mix; Ed Sheeran – Under the Tree; Ava Max – 1 Wish Dasha – Driving Home For Christmas; Little Big Town – Someday At Christmas

In Lower Saxony, there are test broadcasts from a further DAB+ digital radio transmitter site. The private ensemble Hannover (channel 8C) is now also being broadcast from the Sibbesse transmitter site near Hildesheim with a power of 2 kW. Tests have also been reported in northern Lower Saxony since February. The Rosengarten site has gone on air here for the private ensemble ‘Altes Land’ on channel 7B (transmission power: 5 kW). This is the first network expansion for the commercial multiplexes launched in summer 2023.

On 13 December, a private DAB+ multiplex was switched on at a further transmitter site in Lower Saxony. This was the first time that the broadcasting area of a private multiplex in Lower Saxony was expanded. With the Rosengarten/Langenrehm site, the ‘Altes Land’ ensemble has been expanded to include a second site. The multiplex is broadcast on channel 7B with a power of 5 kW ERP. The additional transmitter site will improve reception of the multiplex, especially south of the Hamburg mountains. This means that anyone travelling on the A1 or A7 motorways, for example, will benefit. Reception is also still possible in Hamburg. Eleven private radio programmes are broadcast via the package on channel 7B. In addition to ffn and The Wolf, these include 89.0 RTL, bigFM and Oldie Antenne.