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Augusto Molina, technical director of SER, was one of the panellists at ‘What will happen with broadcasting? Does DAB have a future in Spain?’, a presentation on the past, present and future of DAB. The round table was moderated by José Luis Ruiz, Head of ICT Innovation and Digital Agenda at ISDEFE, and included the participation of Jacqueline Bierhorst, President of WorldDAB, and Javier Sánchez, Head of Strategy at the RTVE Innovation Centre. ‘If DAB goes ahead, which we are in favour of, we need this extra cost to be subsidised by the Administration and for the listener to also receive a subsidy to buy that DAB transmitter’, explained Augusto Molina in his speech.

From 26 to 27 November, WDR will put the new multiplex on channel 9A into operation - and reorganise the distribution of its radio programmes via DAB+. WDR 2 listeners can look forward to better sound quality, while WDR 4 listeners will benefit twice over. Until now, the seven WDR 4 regional programmes were only available via FM and the Internet live stream - but not via DAB+. This is now set to change: On the night of Wednesday 27 November, WDR will expand and reorganise the distribution of its radio programmes via DAB+ by commissioning a second DAB+ network. As a result, all WDR 4 regional programmes will be receivable via DAB+ in future.

SRG will cease broadcasting on FM at the end of 2024. At the same time, most private broadcasters will also begin to thin out their transmitter network - including Radio Zürisee. The private broadcaster has announced that some FM transmitter sites will be switched off from 1 January 2025. In the core broadcasting area, this will initially affect the Glarnerland region, where restrictions may be imposed. All radio stations will cease FM operation at the end of 2026. Radio Zürisee recommends switching to DAB+ digital radio. This allows the programme to be heard terrestrially throughout German-speaking Switzerland.

In GfK Radio 360 Survey 7 results of DAB+ listening it was a win for the easy listening, classic hits stations with smooth top in Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth and Gold 80s in Melbourne. In Sydney it was youth hip-hop and R&B station CADA at No 1. Sky News Radio debuted in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane with a healthy 50,000 listeners across the three metros for their first survey.

Ràdio 4 starts broadcasting on DAB+ on 14 November, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the first legal radio broadcast in Spain. And it starts in DAB+ because, as we have said on other occasions, it is the only realistic alternative that exists today to guarantee the future of radio as we know it. With that future in mind, today we tell you what we are asking of the next National Technical Plan for Digital Radio, as well as what it must be accompanied by.

Tributes are being paid to long-serving radio engineer Bruce Davidson who has died at the age of 60. Bruce has spent the last ten years working at Bauer Media as Broadcast and Technology Director looking after all the national and radio stations and their broadcast technology teams. He most recently oversaw the move from Golden Square to The Lantern and was relocating. Before that, he worked for Global and Chrysalis for 15 years as Group Technical Director then Technology Director leading a team of 80 technology professionals. Davidson had been a director of UK DAB multiplex operators MXR, CE Digital and DRG.

The future is already here at RNE. In line with its commitment to increase coverage until the end of the year, RNE will start broadcasting Ràdio 4 in DAB+ on Thursday 14 November from the Cellnex broadcasting centre in Collserola, from where it provides coverage of the Barcelona metropolitan area. With this, Ràdio 4 becomes the first and only Catalan-language station in Catalonia to start legal broadcasts on DAB+. Coinciding with the centenary of radio in Spain, RNE has started digital radio broadcasts in DAB+ together with Cellnex Telecom, with the firm intention of deploying this digital radio standard in our country, which is set to replace FM in the long term.

This year’s WorldDAB Award for Outstanding Service has been given to Lindsay Cornell, Chair of WorldDAB’s Technical Committee, and Principal Systems Architect for BBC Digital. The Award recognises an individual for an exceptional contribution to the roll-out of DAB+ digital radio and is made annually. The award was presented at the WorldDAB General Assembly in Zagreb, Croatia on 13 November, in recognition of his work within the WorldDAB Technical Committee which culminated in the development of the new ETSI standards for the new DAB+ Automatic Safety Alert system. Reflecting his long-standing commitment to DAB, this is the first time that a second WorldDAB Award for Outstanding Service has been given to one person. Cornell first received the award in 2010.

The operator has obtained the fifteenth individual authorisation for the use of the frequencies of the C-wide digital radio network. The transmitter of Teleko digital will be used from the Jihlava Strážnik. The digital radio multiplex C, which is backed by the Pilsen-based company RTI cz, is preparing to expand into the Vysočina region. The operator has obtained individual authorisation from the Czech Telecommunications Office (CTU) for the use of channel 9D on the Jihlava - Strážník transmitter. Teleko digital also distributes its digital radio network from the same location. Both Teleko and RTI cz can broadcast from Strážník with a maximum permitted power of 5 kW.

Fraunhofer IIS is the first technology supplier to implement WorldDAB’s new EWS/ASA alarm signaling standard into their digital radio DAB+ head-end and receiver solutions. Public and private broadcasters as well as device manufacturers can now receive the innovation through a DAB ContentServer technology upgrade from their equipment suppliers. The implementation was tested and demonstrated as an on-air showcase during the recent “Deutscher Warntag”. In emergency situations, reliable and efficient communication is essential. Digital radio is a highly robust, trustworthy medium with nation-wide reach and plays a key role in disseminating alerts and information to the public.