News

Trash Can Radio, the DAB and online service, is changing its name during daytime hours on digital radio.

Ofcom has today announced trials of a new technology that could provide small radio stations across the UK with an affordable way to broadcast on DAB digital radio. If the trials are successful, UK radio listeners could benefit from more local and community radio stations on DAB. Currently, the cost of broadcasting on DAB is beyond the reach of many small radio stations. But a new approach, pioneered by Ofcom engineer Rashid Mustapha, means that small scale radio stations could start broadcasting on DAB radio for a fraction of current costs.

The communications regulator said that, if the trials are successful, it could increase the variety of radio stations available to listeners across the UK by bringing down the cost of DAB broadcasting in the future.

Ofcom has today confirmed plans for up to ten trials of 'small scale DAB' across the UK, to help explore how smaller commercial radio and community radio stations can access DAB digital radio without the need to obtain costly carriage on existing DAB digital radio multiplexes.

A new regional DAB+ network for the southwestern area of the Netherlands is due to come on-the-air next month, according to Radio.nl. The network of transmitters will be heard over channel 9D.

Hyundai have confirmed the pricing structure for their new generation i20 Coupe, which goes on sale next month priced from £12,725. The top-of-the-range Sport Nav model is priced from £14,400 and comes with 7-inch touch screen SatNav, rear view camera, and DAB radio.

Supporters of any digital radio broadcasting standard commonly claim that digital radio enables listeners to enjoy a superior sound quality. To achieve this however broadcasters need to deploy a proper configuration of the signal chain. If it is poorly designed, digital broadcasting sound can become noticeably worse than a corresponding analogue broadcast.

Buyers of the five-door i20 can now opt for two new trim levels, ‘Premium Nav’ and ‘Premium SE Nav’ – which adds satellite navigation with 7” touch screen, DAB radio and rear view camera to the line-up.

The View Quest Retro DAB combines digital with traditional, moving effortlessly from digital radio to FM to digital music. The radio is compatible with DAB+, which is the newer standard said to offer better sound quality than the existing DAB technology. That future-proofs your purchase a bit

An interesting article is seen in La Lettre, entitled: “Without digital radio, could radio still exist?” In this article, Jean-Paul Philippot, the deputy head of RTBF, was quoted as saying “The future of radio is digital. If we do not do digital radio in Europe, the probability that there will be radio 20 years from now is low. Our future depends on it..."