News

A first look at the life-saving Automatic Safety Alert (ASA) system on DAB+ will be available to delegates at this year’s Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Digital Broadcasting Symposium (DBS), held from 24 - 27 February in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The event is the premier technical symposium in the APAC region focussing on the broadcasting industry. WorldDAB — the global industry forum for DAB+ digital radio — is again a major sponsor of ABU DBS, presenting an expert DAB+ workshop and hosting a DAB+ Pavilion at the conference exhibition. The Pavilion features several major solution providers: Aldena, AVT Audio Visual Technologies, Paneda, and RadioDNS. WorldDAB member Digidia is also exhibiting at ABU DBS.

Wireless Ireland is planning on launching “a suite of new digital radio services” on DAB+ this year. The move comes as RadioToday breaks the news that a new DAB+ trial will operate for 12 months from April by FáilteDAB. The new stations are set to launch in the spring, with more details announced in coming weeks. Sean Barry, Managing Director of Wireless Ireland, said: “Wireless Ireland is proud to lead the charge in Ireland’s transition to digital broadcasting. The new FáilteDAB platform will offer listeners a broader and more immersive experience, with a blend of existing and new content offerings, creating diversity of choice for listeners across a large coverage area. Wireless Ireland’s commitment will see us become the largest content provider on this new and exciting platform.”

Comreg has commissioned FáilteDAB to carry out a new high-powered DAB+ trial in Dublin and surrounding areas for 12 months. The experiment, starting in April, will be operated by Foothold Communications, which owns and operates transmission towers around Ireland and currently has over 1000 radio link and broadcast systems under management. FáilteDAB says only Irish Coimisiún na Meán licensed radio operators will be allowed to participate in the trial. A 20kW transmitter in Three Rock will cover Dublin, along with a number of 8kW and 10kW sites, giving coverage along the coast from Belfast to Rosslare, and inland to reach Kilkenny, but stopping short of reaching Limerick, Cork and Galway.

talkSPORT has been granted permission from Ofcom to turn off seven of its 18 transmitters. The move will reduce its national AM radio coverage from 92% to 88.9% of the UK adult population. The transmitter sites talkSPORT will close are; Clipstone (Nottinghamshire), Duxhurst (Surrey), Lisnagarvey (in County Antrim, Northern Ireland), Lydd (Kent), Stockton (Durham/North Yorkshire), Southwick/Brighton (West Sussex) and Rusthall (Tunbridge Wells). The reasons given by talkSPORT for these changes include declining listenership to its AM service as people turn to alternative platforms, considered against the ongoing viability of each transmitter site. The station will remain available nationally on DAB and other platforms.

WorldDAB Steering Board member Javier Sánchez is the new Director of Audiovisual Policy and Public Service at RTVE. A Telecommunications Engineer from the Alfonso X El Sabio University, his professional activity has always been related to the provision of audiovisual communication services and related aspects. He joined RTVE by competitive examination in 2008. He has been responsible for Strategy at the RTVE Innovation Centre since its creation in 2015 until the present, and has been part of the Impulsa Visión team since its creation. He has also been responsible for RTVE's European Spectrum Strategy (2014-2015) and head of Technical Planning at RNE (2008-2014).

Under the NLPO banner, hundreds of radio stations will start distributing their programmes through frequency layer 6 by 1 September. This is intended for public and commercial broadcasters. Regulator Rijksinspectie Digitale Infrastructuur (RDI) has divided the Netherlands into 57 regions, known as allotments. More than 200 public and commercial broadcasters have received a licence for this and will be allowed to broadcast locally via DAB+ from 1 September for a period of six years. In any case, DAB+ distribution must have started by 1 September 2025. As there is still some space left on the allotments, a new round of applications for the licence necessary for broadcasting is being worked on behind the scenes.

Broadcast Services is launching a new DAB+ multiplex, which will operate from six transmitters in the first phase. The move expands the group's Juke Box portfolio, which already operates FM radio, DVB-T and DVB-T2 broadcast networks. The new multiplex will distribute Radia Čas and Radia Čas Rock programmes at a bitrate of 96 kbps, with other stations under negotiation. Broadcast Services plans to progressively finalise the network to make efficient use of the frequency allocations. The aim is to provide complete DAB+ content for the Prague, Central Bohemia, Pardubice, Vysočina, South Moravia, Zlín, Olomouc and Moravia-Silesia regions.

Turkey’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, announced the country’s transition to DAB+ technology. DAB+ offers a significant technological upgrade over analog FM, Uraloğlu said, delivering clearer audio while optimizing spectrum use. “Beyond sound quality, DAB+ enriches the listening experience with additional content such as text, images and live traffic updates. It also supports sustainability by reducing energy consumption. A single DAB+ transmitter can carry 16 channels using just 12.2 kW, compared to FM’s 128 kW for the same number of channels, cutting energy use by 90% and lowering carbon emissions.”

Local broadcasters in the East Groningen region can again be heard on DAB+ from today. The broadcasts can be heard on channel 8C. Until 1 September last year, the local broadcasters in Groningen could already be heard over the digital ether by means of a temporary licence. This temporary licence has now been converted into a licence until 2030. The operation of the network is now in the hands of network operator Radio Netwerk Nederland (RNN). Via DAB+, local broadcasters RTV1 (Stadskanaal, Veendam, Borger-Odoorn and environs), RTV GO (Municipality of Oldambt) and RTV Westerwolde can be heard. Currently, broadcasting is still done with one support transmitter from Winschoten. In the foreseeable future, a support transmitter in Stadskanaal will also be switched on by transmitter operator RNN.

Love FM has been connected in DAB+ in Rome. For the superstation this is a return to the capital, now extended to much of the region. The broadcast is on CR Dab Lazio channel 9D. Love FM can be heard on DAB+ in various parts of Italy, while on FM it is present in Puglia, Veneto, Campania, Sardinia and Basilicata.