News

A total of 59 local radio broadcasters will be broadcast via DAB+ in the coming months, with efforts bundled per province and in Brussels. In the long run, the Flemish Minister of Media, Benjamin Dalle, wants local radio to be given a permanent place on DAB+. “In Flanders we have a very large and rich offer of local radio stations. They too must be given the opportunity to be present on the platforms of the future,” said Dalle.

WorldDAB has published an updated set of Automotive User Experience Guidelines, with new sections added on hybrid radio, voice controls and phonemes. The updated guidelines also include new information reflective of North American market, and future areas of work such as switching between DAB and other in-car platforms.

Local DAB+ test multiplexes went live in East Flanders and Limburg on 1st February. The East Flemish test mux uses block 10C and is managed by On Tower Netherlands, the operator arm of Broadcast Partners. The Limburg mux was activated via block 10D, with three transmitters of 1,000 Watt ERP each and is operated by Aircast.

A new urban radio station has launched on DAB+ in Romandy, the French-speaking part of western Switzerland. URBN RADIO was launched in response to demand from younger, urban and cosmopolitan listeners, and plays a mix of rap, hip-hop and R'n'B, with a focus on featuring Swiss talent.

This week's one-hour webinar "Broadcast radio's role in cars of the future" took a closer look at the data behind the research headlines of the recent Car Buyers Survey conducted by Edison Research, to get a deeper understanding of the behaviours, trends and entertainment features that are driving the car buyer’s decision making. The full webinar is now available to watch on catchup on the WorldDAB YouTube channel.

The Electronic Media Agency published details at the end of last year on the launch of the first Croatian nationwide DAB+ multiplex, which would cover the entire country. A total of six documents for this public tender were published on the Agency website. These included the Concession Notice, the tender documents, the Feasibility Study itself and also the required technical parameters.

WorldDAB has compiled a list of vehicle makes and models for which a fully integrated aftermarket DAB solution is available, providing clarity on which vehicles it is technically possible to add a fully integrated DAB aftermarket solution.

Network operator DABCOM has started broadcasting 10 radio stations on a local DAB+ multiplex launched in Częstochowa. This is the fourth Polish city to have launched DAB+ multiplexes with regular services, following earlier launches in the cities of Tarnów, Toruń and Rzeszów.

maRadio.be is organising a morning devoted to digital radio in all its various forms on 16 February from 09h-11h CET. The event will mark the modernity of radio as a medium, consumed every week by 80% of the Belgian population.The results of the latest maRadio Ipsos study on the consumption of DAB+ in French-speaking Belgium will be presented at this event.

The expansion of the ongoing DAB+ trial in Bangkok Thailand was announced at the WorldDAB Technical Group meeting on December 9, 2021. With this development, the Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission of Thailand (NBTC) is set to coordinate the construction of 10 new transmission sites which include both National and Local DAB+ layers. This expansion will include the areas and cities of Chang Mai in the north, Khonkaen and Nakhon Ratchasima in the northeast, Pattaya and Chonburi adjacent to Bangkok, and Songkhla, Nakhon Thammarat, and the tourist centre of Phuket in the south.