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Ofcom has announced which areas will be advertised in the next round of small-scale DAB licensing. There are 27 locations on the list, ranging from the Isle of Wight to Carlisle, and Lanarkshire in Scotland to Carrickfergus in Northern Ireland. Round Six will be advertised next year.

North Derbyshire Radio are pleased to announce we are now broadcasting live across the High Peak on DAB. Station Controller Naz Premji said “North Derbyshire Radio continues to grow and we are delighted to be on DAB across the High Peak." Craig Pattison from High Peak One Digital said: "After two years the wait is over. Until now the High Peak has had very little in the way of radio choice in the area. This has now all changed with the introduction of small-scale DAB from High Peak One Digital."

AFTER a lengthy wait community radio station Radio Warrington is at last available on DAB in cars and on radios in the Warrington area. Local radio fans are encouraged to scan the DAB band to tune in. Station manager Steve Lewis said: “We have been providing a community radio service exclusively for Warrington online since 2007. We campaigned for an FM licence but were told there was no room on the FM band so we were awarded a frequency on 1332AM in 2014. Medium Wave is old and unpopular so we applied to broadcast on DAB. Digital Audio Broadcasting has been around for over 20 years but the advent of DAB+ has allowed a lot more stations on to the air.”

Two companies who had their small-scale DAB licences revoked have been awarded the licences for a second time.The licences cover the Isles of Scilly, Merthyr & Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales, and Alnwick & Morpeth. The three awards are the first in Round 5 of the small-scale DAB licensing process, with another 26 awards to be made in the coming months.

Several new digital radio stations are about to launch in South Devon. The date has been set for DAB digital broadcasting network TorDab to go live, meaning local organisations can bring radio services to a wider audience. It will launch on Wednesday 1 November, from transmitters in Torquay, Bovey Tracey and at Teignmouth Golf Club, subject to approval by broadcast regulator Ofcom. TorDab's technical partner Viamux worked with on neighbouring service ExeDab and is due to fit Devon's other DAB service PlymDab, which has yet to announce a launch date. Devon's Radio Exe is a partner in all three services.

With just 122 days to go to Christmas, Devon has a new radio station! Radio ExeMas has gone on air exactly four months ahead of the big day, to bring happiness and joy as the nights drawn in, children return to school and Santa starts getting his act together. The station, from Devon’s Radio Exe, broadcasts on DAB+ in Exeter and the surrounding area, as well as being streamed on its own website and on the Radio Exe app and website too. As well as being available on Exeter’s DAB+ network, Radio ExeMas will launch on Torbay and Plymouth’s forthcoming digital radio networks when they go on air before the big day.

House Party Radio has launched on the small-scale DAB multiplex in Warrington, Widnes and Runcorn. The digital service started three years ago by Station Director John Beddows, also known as Johnny Bee, who has been hosting a radio show of the same name for over 15 years. John commented: “We are extremely excited to bring House Party Radio to DAB across Warrington, Widnes and Runcorn from the 18th August. With thanks to David Duffy and the team.” The station says Warrington is just the second small-scale DAB+ multiplex it is planning to appear on in the Northwest, after launching in Blackpool in December last year.

Victory Radio is now broadcasting on a second multiplex, this time in Winchester. The station is the latest to join the Winchester multiplex, which is owned and operated by UK DAB Networks. Victory Radio began broadcasting in 2021 as an online station, then joined the Portsmouth multiplex in April last year. Bob Bruce, Victory Radio’s owner and Managing Director said: “The future of the radio landscape is constantly evolving and at Victory we want to play our part in that."

Happy Radio UK is to further expand its coverage on DAB across the north-west of England later this month. The station, which is currently on DAB in Manchester, Cheshire, Merseyside, North Wales and Blackpool, will be available on the new DAB small-scale multiplexes for Stockport, Preston, Warrington and mid Cheshire. Co-founders Darren Proctor and Max Eden said: “We are focused on getting uninterrupted DAB coverage of Happy Radio throughout the north-west."

Some of the original team behind BRMB in Birmingham is bringing the radio station name back to the city. Ofcom has approved a name change for Big City Radio to BRMB which will broadcast on 89.1 FM and DAB on the north and south DAB small-scale local multiplexes. Big City Radio will move to online only, to make way for the new service. On Monday 4th September at 11:52am, Les Ross MBE will officially relaunch BRMB on FM and DAB across Birmingham along with the West Midlands Mayor Andy Street.