News

… a positive decision, expected from Government in December, will provide clear direction – and bring the benefits of digital radio to a broader audience, providing more stations, greater choice and better functionality.

he public broadcaster RAI is switching from DAB to DAB+. The switchover sees ten instead of seven radio stations being broadcast by the RAI DAB network. Next year the broadcaster will expand coverage significantly and intends that the whole of Central and Northern Italy will be able to tune into RAI DAB services by the end of 2014.

National public broadcaster Polish Radio has begun transmitting in DAB+, according to its website. Director and Editor-in-Chief of Polish Radio 4 Krzysztof Łuszczewski says the digital standard enables the broadcaster to increase its coverage area, improve sound quality and disseminate programming nationwide.

A patent by the inventor Park, Jeong-hoon (Seoul, KR), filed on December 4, 2006, was published online on September 24, 2013. Patent number 8542621 is assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Suwon-si, KR) and is for a particular method for providing and receiving a video service in DAB.

Poland’s public radio broadcaster Polskie Radio this week added DAB+ to its platform compliment. Its two main national channels – general interest Jedynka and eclectic music Trójka – have better than 90% national digital coverage, classical music and arts channel Dwójka 60% and youth-oriented educational channel Czwórka just under 20%, mostly in metropolitan areas. All-news channel Radio 24, previously available only on the web, is on the Warsaw local DAB+ multiplex. The 17 regional public stations will progress to DAB+ over the next year.

Analogue radio sets are likely be consigned to history by the first half of 2018, the head of Britain’s commercial radio trade body has said, as she called on the Government to set out a clear timetable for the industry’s digital switchover.

Uncertainty surrounding DAB radio looks largely to have been lifted now that many of today's sets are fitted with DAB+ chips so that they can operate in those countries that have adopted the more advanced DAB+ format.

Choice FM will disappear on Sunday to make way for Global Radio’s latest brand extension – Capital XTRA – on national DAB and in London on FM.

The new Peugeot 308 Allure now comes with DAB as standard.

The soon-to-launch digital sports radio station in Scotland Eklipse Sports Radio will start testing this week. Eklipse Sports Radio will be broadcasting to central Scotland on DAB to a TSA of 2.7m.