News

The Media Strategy of Montenegro 2023-2027 plans to adopt Amendments to the Law on Digital Broadcasting in order to create preconditions for the implementation of the project to introduce digital radio in Montenegro. The Ministry of Economic Development, as the relevant authority, will form a working body with the task of drafting these amendments. One of the goals of the amendments is to enable the implementation of the Digital Radio project and the introduction of the DAB+ system, including the first national multiplex for T-DAB+ technology. In this context, the Ministry of Economic Development invites non-governmental organisations dealing with this field to delegate their representative as a member of the working group for drafting the bill.

Hessischer Rundfunk (hr) has put three new DAB+ transmitters into operation this year. This significantly improves digital radio reception in eastern and central Hesse. In Eastern Hesse, the Rhön transmitter will start its regular broadcasting of hr stations in the DAB+ standard on 28 November 2024 and will ensure better mobile coverage in the region, for example when driving. The new transmitter also improves coverage in buildings from Hilders to Gersfeld and Ebersburg in particular. Since July and August 2024, hr has also been broadcasting via the Schlüchtern and Herborn-Burg transmitters in central Hesse. The further DAB+ transmitter network expansion of Hessischer Rundfunk for the year 2025 is currently being planned and prepared.

Noise-free radio broadcasting is already available for the majority of Slovaks. It is free and offers a dozen stations. For many years we have been using the term FM broadcasting. Many radio stations are broadcast over the air and we listen to them at home or in the car every day. Radios have been a part of our lives for decades, and many of us may not even realise that today's terrestrial analogue broadcasting has a younger counterpart. Yes, it is digital broadcasting, which has been provided by Towercom for a few years now. Terrestrial Digital Audio Broadcasting (T-DAB), which operates in Slovakia in the T-DAB+ standard, often called simply DAB (or DAB+), has undeniably more advantages than analogue.

SRG will switch off the FM frequencies of its radio stations at the end of 2024. Radio SRF 1, Radio SRF 2 Kultur and Radio SRF 3 can then also only be received via digital radio (e.g. DAB+, internet radio or cable). The SRG Customer Centre has received several hundred emails and calls on this topic in recent weeks. Here are the four most frequently asked questions - and the answers. 1. how can the stereo system be made DAB+-ready? Although newer stereo systems are equipped with DAB+, older models often are not. In most cases, they can be retrofitted with DAB+ using an adapter. It is important that the stereo system has an aux-in or line-in input.

WorldDAB President and Digital Radio Netherlands Project Director Jacqueline Bierhorst talks about the future of DAB radio technology, which has been built in most EU member states, including Croatia, where there are currently nine radio stations with digital broadcasting. Last week, the “World DAB Summit 2024” was held in Zagreb, organised by the WorldDAB forum, the global industry forum for DAB+ digital radio. This conference is their main annual event, which brings together experts from the profession and presents news, the latest technological achievements and inspiring creative initiatives. It was emphasised that the DAB plus signal represents progress in radio broadcasting because it primarily “increases the cake”, i.e. the number of channels, and reduces broadcasting costs and environmental pollution.

The first of the eight winners of the auction of frequencies for networks dedicated to digital broadcasting of commercial radios has reported meeting the development criteria of the Czech Telecommunications Office (CTU). Teleko digital, a company from Příbram, has covered at least 40 percent of the population of all regions for which it has won frequencies with DAB+ signals. "Digital radio transmitters have been launched in Liberec, Kralovehradec, Vysočina and other regions in the east of the Czech Republic - Moravian-Silesian, Olomouc, Zlín and South Moravian regions - on the final channels issued by the CTU. This makes us the first DAB network operator to meet the development criteria set by the licence in advance," announced the owner of the company, Tomas Řapek.

In cooperation with IDEE MEDIEN and Milling Broadcast Services GmbH, the new radio station ‘Radio Grammo’ will be launched on 1 December 2024 at 12 noon. The motto is clear: Digital clear noise-free reception with shellac ad absurdum, plus only in mono, because radio must rustle, rumble and crackle and not be a standardised mishmash. ‘Only genuine with 78 revolutions’, because only music titles are played that were first produced on shellac; and gramophones turn at 78 revolutions on the turntable. The DAB+ capacity on the DAB multiplex in the Bad Kreuznach-Mainz-Bingen area (Rhineland-Palatinate) will be used for the launch, which will be broadcast via three transmission towers. This will technically reach around 480,000 listeners. This multiplex is operated by Milling Broadcast Services GmbH from Nettersheim / Eifel.

The National Digital Infrastructure Inspectorate (RDI), formerly known as Radiocommunications Agency, will start the procedure for auctioning 27 packages for non-national commercial radio on Tuesday (27 November). 44 DAB+ licences will also be distributed. The current licences will expire on 1 September 2025, so a new allocation has to be made. Each of the 27 FM lots will also have capacity attached to one of the seven allotments on the supra-regional DAB+ network. In addition, 44 separate DAB+ licences on the seven allotments will also be auctioned.

Czech regions are seeing the next phase of changes in the field of digital radio broadcasting. The West Bohemian company RTI cz will retune its DAB+ multiplex for the Plzeň, Klatovy and Domažlice regions. A new transmitter will be launched in Železná Ruda, where until now only the signal of Czech Radio stations was available. Listeners will now be able to tune in to Radio 1, Signal Radio or Radio Beat in DAB+. "On Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 November 2024, the transmitters Plzeň-Sylván, Klatovy-Doubrava, Domažlice-Cerchov and Železná Ruda will be switched to the final DAB frequency 9D. " the operator said.

On Monday, 25 November, DAB+ broadcasting will be interrupted in Brno - Barvičova, which is used by Teleko digital. The TELEKO DAB1 multiplex includes stations such as Radio PROGLAS, DAB plus TOP40, Czech Radio North and Hradec Králové, ZUN radio and Radio 7. The operator Teleko digital announced, that the reason for the interruption of signal distribution is the change of the channel from 8A to frequency block 10D and the adjustment of radiation parameters according to the final frequency authorisation. It can be assumed that this should improve coverage.