News

TDF announced today that it has been selected as the operator for digital radio broadcasting in four new areas (extended allotments of Metz, Nancy, Limoges and Bayonne defined by Arcom). In 2023, the inhabitants of Lorraine (from Thionville to Epinal), the South-West (from Hendaye to the south of the Landes) and Limousin (from Bellac to Brive-la-Gaillarde) will benefit from radio services broadcast in digital quality thanks to the 19 DAB+ transmitters that TDF will be putting into service in these areas. In 2022 alone, TDF has commissioned 21 transmitters that bring radio in digital quality to the population of some twenty towns in France every day.

Swiss fibre optic and communications technology company Huber+Suhner has developed a new rooftop antenna for use by the Ostdeutsche Eisenbahn GmbH trains operating throughout Germany to enable DAB+ radio broadcasts throughout train carriages. The project was in conjunction with German company Paxlife Innovations GmbH, which specialises in passenger information, content and digital services onboard delivery for transport operators.

Leading UK communications infrastructure and media services company, Arqiva, is pleased to announce the appointment of Gaurav Jandwani as Executive Director, Media & Broadcast. Gaurav joins from Telia, where he was Business Head, TV & Streaming and will sit on the Arqiva Executive Committee (ExCo) reporting to CEO Shuja Khan. His appointment is effective from 03 January 2023. Shuja Khan, Arqiva CEO said: “Gaurav is an outstanding hire for Arqiva and I’m excited about the knowledge and expertise he will bring to Arqiva. He has a wealth of experience in the industry and in providing innovative solutions for customers bringing together both the traditional as well as cloud and IP based distribution. His experience of working across international markets in the US, Asia and Europe will be a key asset in helping us deliver our Vision 2031 strategy. I’m really looking forward to working with him in January."

Cerence Inc., AI for a world in motion, today announced new partnerships with two of the world’s leading audio content providers – iHeartMedia, the number one audio company in the United States and home to iHeartRadio, the free all-in-one digital music, podcasting and live streaming radio service, and Radioline, which manages the largest audio content database of 110,000 radio and podcast streams from 161 countries – bringing enhanced, conversational AI-powered access to radio and podcast content to automakers and mobility OEMs.

From 2023, SUNSHINE LIVE will also be broadcast in Switzerland. As in Germany, a distribution strategy via DAB+ and IP will also be pursued here. A station adapted for Switzerland will be broadcast, and SUNSHINE LIVE will also cooperate locally with strong and established partners.

Last Friday, 16 December, a new era began for Albanians in Switzerland. The broadcasting of the first and only Albanian radio station in Switzerland "albradio" began. "albradio" broadcasts via DAB+ on the multiplexes of digris AG: Schaffhausen-Winterthur, Aarau-Olten, Bernese Oberland, Lausanne and Central Switzerland. In addition, the station can also be received via the internet.

PaxLife Innovations turned to HUBER+SUHNER to develop a new railway antenna designed to complement the DAB+ (Digital Audio Broadcasting) receiver developed by PaxLife. PaxLife Innovations GmbH specializes in passenger information, content and digital services onboard delivery for transport operators, systems integrators or vehicle manufacturers and telecommunication providers to maximize the benefit of installed WiFi systems. The partnership between HUBER+SUHNER and PaxLife will enable DAB+ radio broadcasting for a regional German railway operator.

GatesAir has helped a Swiss scout project to run an amateur radio station. Part of the 2022 Mova/BuLa Federal Scout Camp, which drew 30,000 boys and girls to an elaborate camping site in the Alps town of Goms, Valais, Switzerland, involved building and operating an amateur radio station. The project — Radio Sonar — used a low-power GatesAir Maxiva transmitter to broadcast live DAB+ radio coverage of Mova/BuLa events.

The latest GfK Survey 8 revealed a record 12.2 million people listened to commercial radio each week. This was the ninth consecutive rise in cumulative audience growth. The number of people listening to commercial radio via streaming soared by 46%, to close to 3.7 million#. Commercial DAB+ station listeners also increased 18.5% YOY to over 2.7 million*. Time spent listening to commercial radio increased across all demographics under 55^. On average, young Australians aged 10-24, tuned in an extra 1 hour and 48 minutes each week across the five major metro markets, bringing their total average listening to 10 hours and 54 mins.

The Norwegian Communications Authority (Nkom) reports several inquiries from consumers who state that so-called emergency radios or emergency radios are being sold that do not meet the requirements that have been set. If you find a radio dealer or an advertisement that says that an FM radio is a full-fledged emergency radio, this is not correct. A good emergency radio has DAB+ technology, and can be used both on 230V and on batteries. That's what department director at Nkom, John-Eivind Velure, says. He further emphasises: — In Norway, NRK P1 is responsible for broadcasting important messages to the population in a crisis situation. They can break in with important messages on all channels, so it doesn't matter if you listen to P13 or P1+. Local FM networks are only an addition that can be used if other mobile radio and TV networks are down. Nkom has notified the Norwegian Consumer Protection Authority and asked them to consider examining the sales communication for products sold as emergency radios.