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The radio industry is calling for fast action to ensure smart technology does not stop Australians from easily accessing local radio content. Commercial Radio & Audio (CRA) has welcomed the recommendation made by the Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, following the inquiry into the Communications Legislation Amendment (Prominence and Anti-siphoning) Bill 2023, that priority is given to the implementation of radio prominence on devices such as smart speakers. “We are pleased that the Committee has recognised that radio prominence on devices such as smart speakers needs to be a priority, but we need reassurance that connected cars will be included in any consultation,” said CRA Chairman and ARN Chief Executive, Ciaran Davis.

50% of the Austrian population aged 15 and over are familiar with the term DAB+ digital radio, its logo or even both. 26% of all households in Austria state that they have at least one DAB+-capable receiver and almost a quarter of the population has already listened to radio programmes via DAB+ digital terrestrial radio. Five years after the nationwide launch, 18% of the total population, or 960,000 Austrians, even use DAB+ (almost) daily, several times a week or at least several times a month. These are the key findings of the "DAB+ Digital Radio Austria 2024" study presented on 11 April 2024, which monitors the current awareness and reach of Austria's nationwide digital radio service.

RADIO BOB! rockt Schleswig-Holstein can now also be received via DAB+ in Hamburg. The station has been activated on the 1st private DAB+ mux (channel 10D) for Hamburg. In addition to analogue broadcasting via FM in Hamburg and reception via the internet, fans of the station in the Hanseatic city can now also enjoy the programme in digital quality terrestrially via antenna.

Flash FM is 21 years old and began with a computer on a chair. From this small community radio station in Limoges in Haute-Vienne, a commercial medium emerged, with five FM frequencies, two DAB frequencies and 75,000 listeners per week in four regions in west-central France. Like many radio stations, Flash FM’s future lies in DAB+. Flash FM Managing Director Pascal Thomas sets out his strategy: “We’ll be able to communicate that we’re finally a regional radio station for the whole of Limousin. It’s a real satisfaction to be on FM throughout the region and to be developing DAB+ in the extended Limoges area, which represents coverage of Haute-Vienne and Corrèze. Plus, our arrival in Poitiers on DAB+, something that wouldn’t have been possible with FM.” Thomas adds that he would like to launch his station in the Charente region, in Angoulême and Cognac. “That’s the whole point of DAB technology; it’s a real objective.”

Virgin Radio, "THE rock station", is coming to France on FM and DAB+. Launched by Espace Group, a major player in media and digital audio, Virgin Radio will be on air on Monday 15 April at 4pm, with a special live broadcast featuring its entire team. Virgin Radio is taking over the FM and DAB+ broadcasts of Virage Radio, an Espace Group station already firmly established with a rock programme in more than 30 French cities. Virgin Radio will broadcast its programmes on DAB+ in France's main cities (Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux, Nantes, Nice, Lille, Strasbourg, etc.) "Virgin Radio promises to broadcast the best in rock music in France's biggest cities on FM and DAB+, while remaining close to its listeners through the rock concerts it will offer them," Julien Fregonara, Managing Director of Espace Group, told La Lettre Pro de la Radio.

The Děvín water tower will be used in the future by Fiera Touch to distribute its radio multiplex, which will operate on channel 5C. From the same location, the company of entrepreneur Pavel Hajek plans to launch the television multiplex Regional Network 11 within a few weeks. "We are just about to complete the TV transmitter. We are waiting for the technology to be installed, the connectivity and the connection to electricity," Pavel Hájek, who is behind pHmedia, the operator of i-Vysočina.cz and KladNO.1, and Fiera Touch, one of the successful bidders for the future private DAB+ network, told the Digital Radio portal. For the territory of the capital city, the operator acquired channel 5C, on which the DR Deutschland network has been broadcasting in Germany for 13 years.

This has nothing to do with the most famous film festival in the world. We are counting down the days to the launch of our very own DAB+ transmitter in Cannes ! In just a few days, listeners in Cannes will be able to listen to 13 community radio stations licensed in the Nice area on DAB+ Radio, thanks to a new extension to the West of the region. The additional transmitter, purchased by World Radio Paris thanks (in part) to our listeners’ generous donations in 2023, was just installed in the hills above the city of Cannes. When powered on, it will allow full coverage of the Côte d’Azur, in addition to the existing transmitter located in Nice. The two devices will operate on the same frequency, allowing seemless reception in the car all along the coast, from St Tropez to Monaco.

A new, second digital radio transmitter in Prague was launched this week by Teleko digital. It is located at the City Tower building in Pankrác and uses the infrastructure of Digital Broadcasting. "We applied for this site at a time when it was not known whether there would be any auction of frequencies for DAB+ networks intended for commercial radio and we obtained it before the auction was announced," Tomáš Řapek, managing director of Teleko digital said. Teleko's DAB+ network broadcasts from the City Tower building on channel 11A with a power of 200 W, i.e. the same and on the same channel as Teleko's original transmitter in Strahov. With this, City Tower forms a single-frequency network and the Teleko DAB+ multiplex has thus significantly improved the coverage of the capital.

SPIE Belgium, a subsidiary of the SPIE group, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, is extending its partnership with JACOPS NV to modernise and optimise DAB+ radio communications in all tunnels in Flanders. In the long term, this initiative will make it possible to increase the efficiency of radio communications in all Flemish tunnels, which is a significant step forward in terms of safety. Norman Kabir, Business Development Manager at SPIE Belgium explains: "In addition to optimising the sound and radio frequency range, DAB+ will bring tangible improvements in road safety thanks to targeted emergency notifications in tunnels."

The Voice in north Devon has launched a second radio station on DAB called The Voice 2. The extra service plays music from the 60s, 70s and 80s and includes local news, travel and presenters. It started at 7am today, Tuesday 9th April, covering the same area as The Voice. Managing Director Jim Trevelyan said: “Local radio has evolved, and as such opportunities arise, we have then risen to that challenge to provide a new service. The two stations complement each other very well and mean North Devon has two truly local radio stations. Rescan your DAB radio.”