News

Lincs Sound is marking Lincolnshire Day on Wednesday 1 October by launching on DAB digital radio across the county. The station, which began broadcasting online on 30 June, will now be available to more listeners with the reach of DAB. Commercial Director James Footitt said the move represents a major step forward. He explained: “Going live on DAB is a huge milestone for Lincs Sound. It means even more listeners can enjoy our great mix of music, local voices and community spirit. It opens up some fantastic opportunities for local businesses to connect with our audience.” Programme Director Katie Trinder added: “Lincolnshire is at the heart of everything we do, so going live on DAB on Lincolnshire Day feels like the perfect way to celebrate our county and give listeners even more ways to tune in.”

The first reports are already coming in to the editorial office: car radios have started to automatically tune into RADIO CLUB 103 on DAB+, the new digital technology that is revolutionising radio listening. The channel, which has just been activated, is gradually extending its coverage to the entire Veneto region, allowing anyone to tune in without interference and with superior audio quality. This is an important step for the historic Belluno-based broadcaster, which now reaches the entire region from the heart of the Dolomites, ready to entertain, inform and keep listeners company wherever they are.

The future of digital radio seems paradoxical: less bandwidth, but better sound quality. Thanks to new signal processing techniques, two radio stations can now share the same capacity of one station without the listener experiencing any loss of quality. This innovation saves costs, makes more efficient use of capacity and, surprisingly, also benefits older radios. Nico Silvius, director and owner of NLRADIO in Sneek, provides digital distribution for dozens of radio stations. He explains that many smaller broadcasters in the Netherlands have little financial leeway. ‘With the exception of the large national commercial stations, most stations are simply struggling. Everyone is looking for high-quality solutions that cost as little as possible. That forces us to be innovative.’

On September 15, 2025, NBTC Chairman Air Chief Marshal Dr. Thanapan Harijaroen presided over the opening ceremony of a training session on technical knowledge related to the digital radio broadcasting process for 2025. This training aimed to prepare radio broadcasting operators and NBTC staff members with essential technical knowledge and understanding of the digital radio broadcasting process, equipment inspection and certification, and related announcements and regulations. This training will serve as a crucial starting point for developing and elevating Thailand's radio broadcasting industry to international competitiveness. The training took place at the Best Western Hotel, Chatuchak, Bangkok.

On September 17–18, 2025, Rajamangala University of Technology Lanna, in collaboration with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), organized a workshop on "Building Your Own Digital Broadcasting Receiver Using a Microprocessor and a DAB+ Receiver" at the Thin 1 Room of the Academic Resources and Information Technology Building. This provided Telecommunications Engineering students with the opportunity to participate in training and learn about modern digital radio technology. The objective of this training was to provide participants with an understanding of the Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB+) standard, which uses MPEG-4 HE AAC v2 (DAB+ Audio) audio encoding, enabling high-quality, clear audio transmission with reduced noise.

The Global Radio for Resilience Initiative, led by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) in collaboration with regional broadcasting unions—including the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), African Union of Broadcasting (AUB), Caribbean Broadcasting Union (CBU), and European Broadcasting Union (EBU)—seeks to highlight the enduring importance of radio as a trusted, accessible, and inclusive communication tool in disaster risk reduction (DRR). This call aims to document, celebrate, and amplify the stories of how radio supports communities in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters. UNDRR and its partners extend an invitation to broadcasters, unions, community organizations, and media practitioners worldwide to submit radio resilience case studies for inclusion in a global publication.

The 2025 edition of IBC – International Broadcasting Convention, one of the world's most important events dedicated to media and broadcasting, closes in Amsterdam, on 15 September. Over the weekend, Giorgio d'Ecclesia, CEO & Founder of Radiospeaker.it, was in Amsterdam to meet colleagues, companies and partners from all over Europe. One of the most important topics was the event dedicated to DAB, where ASA – Automatic Safety Alert was presented: a system that allows radios to turn on automatically or interrupt programmes in the event of natural disasters or emergencies. ‘A huge technological step forward that confirms how radio remains a vital and public utility medium,’ commented d'Ecclesia.

The fourth edition of the CIM Establishment Survey (ES) shows that the audio landscape in Belgium is shifting slowly. Radio remains traditionally strong in Flanders, but the way people listen has changed less over the past year than in previous years. The reach of DAB+ is still slowly growing. In Flanders, it rose from 21 per cent in 2022 to 31 per cent in 2023 and 32 per cent in 2024, only to increase slightly to 32.7 per cent in 2025. Men in the higher income category remain the pioneers, with 48.3 per cent usage, but it is striking that women in the same target group (40.6 per cent) have almost caught up. In Wallonia, DAB+ is climbing steadily from 18.4 per cent in 2023 to 21.7 per cent this year. Among 25-64 year olds, usage is highest at 25.8 per cent.

The SRG criticises private radio stations for their U-turn in deciding to stick with FM after all. Six answers to six questions following the National Council's decision to delay the switch-off. Does the SRG feel confused by private radio stations, which are pushing for FM to continue operating contrary to the original agreement? "The SRG clearly believes that the demand made by some private radio stations on politicians is a step in the wrong direction and does not correspond to the framework conditions originally agreed and confirmed by the federal government, on the basis of which we made our decisions."

Arcom has decided: to renew, from 1 August 2025 to 31 May 2026, the authorisation granted to SAS Coméquip to trial DAB+ broadcasting in Saint-Denis, Le Tampon and Saint-André; to authorise the aforementioned company to trial DAB+ broadcasting in Saint-Leu and Saint-Paul from 1 August 2025 to 31 May 2026; to renew, from 1 August 2025 to 31 May 2026, the authorisation granted to the Fédération des radios associatives de La Réunion (FAR) to trial DAB+ broadcasting in Saint-Denis.