News

A case study on the adoption process for DAB digital radio has won the ABU Technical Review prize for Best Case Study, as announced at this year's ABU General Assembly. The study, by Dr. Les Sabel, entitled "DAB adoption process guide: Investigations and trials" was published in the first edition of the 2021 ABU Technical Review. The article is part of a series of articles being prepared by WorldDAB to assist broadcasters, government regulators and transmission service providers use best practice to plan for the adoption of DAB digital radio. Dr. Sabel, Chair of the WorldDAB Asia-Pacific Technical Group said: "The forthcoming APAC Technical Group meeting on 9 December 2021 will continue to explore DAB adoption, specifically DAB+ requirements and allotment planning. We encourage you to register and attend."

MediaDab consortium (mediadab.eu), made up of local digital and native radio stations, activated a new DAB+ broadcasting system for the city of Florence and a good part of the province on 30 November. Gianluigi Petruccio, MediaDab's press officer, said: "the launch of our digital radio network for local broadcasters, including in Florence, is great news for the city's listeners and for its tourists who visit it from all over the world for its extraordinary masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture. This is a great time for Tuscany residents to purchase a new digital radio to use at home or in the car. Soon our consortium will activate other major cities such as Bari and Lecce."

Two new DAB digital radio multiplexes operated by Bauer Digital Radio Ltd have gone live from nine sites across north Lancashire and Cumbria. The new networks collectively carry 28 digital radio services including local FM stations BBC Radio Cumbria, CFM, Heart North Lancashire & Cumbria and Smooth Radio Lake District broadcasting in DAB or DAB+ for the first time alongside a host of new and additional services.

The Chairman of Poland's National Broadcasting Council (Krrit), Witold Kołodziejski, has this week presented information on the radio digitisation process. He announced that Krrit is preparing a competition for a national DAB+ multiplex and confirmed that he will publish an announcement by the end of this year on the matter. Next spring Polish Radio will increase its coverage from 67% to 80% of the population.

Radio Arabella Bayern will be broadcast throughout Bavaria via DAB+ from December 15. The technical range will be over 12 million inhabitants.

The first DAB+ pilot projects for local radio stations in Flanders are taking shape. Applications for each province were due by December 1, although the Flemish Regulator for Media has announced that it will not be difficult if the deadline is exceeded by a few days. In West and East Flanders respectively 15 and 16 local radios participate, while in Limburg they currently have eleven participating stations. In Antwerp the light will go green with 13 stations. Details for Flemish Brabant will be published soon.

Prague radio network COLOR DAB+ has been expanded by another station - East Bohemian Radio Orlicko. The station operator wants to test what possibilities the DAB+ technology brings and what it couldpossibly offer to the listeners in the future. "We bring our listeners what they don't have anywhere else. We map and bring information mainly from the field of culture." said station founder Věroslav Musil.

ICASA councillor Dimakatso Qocha said: "Digital sound broadcasting is the future of radio, with immense benefits to listeners, as digital radio promises universal service and access." ICASA published Digital Sound Broadcasting Regulation in March 2021. With a large number of radio services on air, South Africa has experienced radio frequency spectrum scarcity in FM, particularly in the metropolitan areas. South Africa has not yet made a call on whether FM will be switched off completely.

DAB+ receiver sales in Germany have increased compared to the same period of the previous year. Just under 1.2 million DAB + devices were sold between January and September (+14%) amounting to 152 million euros (+9%). ARD, Deutschlandradio, private broadcasters and other members of the Digitalradio Deutschland association are together promoting DAB+ with a nationwide campaign running from November 22nd to December 5th, on TV and radio, as well as in print and online. Deutschlandradio supplements the joint nationwide activities with regional DAB+ campaigns that call for a switch from FM to DAB+. As the No 1 public broadcaster, Deutschlandradio has begun in recent years to implement purely digital programme distribution in selected regions.

Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) is putting two new DAB+ transmitter sites into operation on 25 November in Schönsee in Upper Palatinate and in Volkach in Lower Franconia. The DAB+ network will thus expand to 77 locations in Bavaria by the end of the year. For 2022, BR plans to put five more DAB+ transmitter locations into operation - across Bavaria.