DAB Radio in Ireland Now Off-Air, Permanently.

For years most listeners ignored DAB radio

March 31 2020 at 11am public broadcaster RTÉ ceased all broadcasting on the national DAB+ network. The niche  radio channels RTÉ Gold, RTÉ 2XM, RTÉ Radio 1 Extra, RTÉ Pulse and RTÉjr Radio continue exclusively online. Radio 1 and three other main channels continue on FM and on the digital television network. (Radio 1 also on AM longwave 252 kHz covering all the British isles).

Public broadcaster RTÉ says its decision to cease DAB transmission was driven by three main factors; DAB was the least utilised platform in Ireland, RTÉ is the only Irish broadcaster on the DAB system, and cost avoidance. 

The Final Countdown -The Future of DAB Radio Is Over

Global smartphones will kill a pyramid scheme which has cost taxpayers billions.  

FM and mobile/fixed broadband provide ample space for audio broadcasting worldwide.

Public Access Nordic has for some decades observed developments in the field of broadcasting in Sweden, the Nordic countries and the rest of the world. Particular attention has been paid to the attempts to introduce DAB as a digital platform for terrestrial radio. However, DAB replacing FM radio is something that radio listeners never asked for. Dissatisfaction with the FM has ever been reported.  Globally, FM radio is  challenged by only by digital radio via the Internet. Despite this, the DAB system stakeholders continue conducting extensive lobbying in Europe. In some countries, the lobby has managed to lure the pants of politicians. Their foremost (and sole) triumph was a closure national FM in Norway, but not in Sweden or anywhere else.

The editors predict that DAB lobbying will continue for a long time to come as this is the only chance to survive. Otherwise, market forces would quickly kill the DAB system. The editors have noted that the DAB stakeholders never respond to criticism of the shortcomings in the system.  Below is our overview and analysis. Views and comments, including anyone not sharing our facts, views and conclusions are welcome. 

FM Radio Mandatory for New Cars in Finland

DAB broadcasting is not on the agenda

The Finnish parliament has approved the reform of the Electronic Communications Services Act and related laws. The amendment to the Vehicle Act secures the possibility for Finns to listen to domestic FM radio channels in the car also in the future.

The position of FM radio in new cars in Finland will receive a new kind of security with the change in the law. Article 25 of the revised Vehicle Act, which will enter into force already on December 21, stipulates that the radio receivers of new cars sold in Finland must be able to receive FM radio.

Digital Radio Trial on the FM Band in Copenhagen

Also to be received in Southern Sweden. 

On 31 August 2020, the Danish Radio and Television Board granted Open Channel Aps in Copenhagen to conduct trial operations with digital radio DRM + on the FM band for the next 12 months, but can be extended twice more for 12 months. 

The broadcasts are planned to start during the last quarter of this year on the frequency 86.5 MHz, 500 Watt ERP and with a bandwidth of 200 kHz, which makes room for two DRM + channels. Each DRM + channel has a capacity of 186.4 kbps with space for three digital radio channels with a slideshow, a total of six digital radio stations can thus be broadcast here. There are ambitions to involve the Öresund region and possibly collaborate with another FM station on the Swedish side.

New Digital Radio Receivers For Consumer Market in India

Terrestrial broadcast DRM + is now also available in the FM band. A global challenge for DAB.

Chinese Gospell, Swiss StarWaves (including "TukTuk Radio"), and Indian Avion have launched new models of DRM standalone and car radio sets. Unlike before, most receivers have now also been adapted for DRM for all broadcast bands; medium wave (MF), short wave (HF), VHF band I-III including the FM band (DRM +).

An article in the radio industry magazine Radio World indicates that it will be possible to adapt current analogue FM receivers also in mobile phones to DRM + without any extra hardware. This is particularly interesting for India where a very large proportion of the population listens to radio in their mobile phones and smartphones; online or on FM.

Terrestrial Digital Radio To Complement AM and FM in South Africa

A pyrrhic victory for the DAB lobby. Analogue switch-off not on the agenda

The South African Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Stella Tembisa Ndabeni-Abrahams, has issued policy direction regarding the introduction of digital sound broadcasting in South Africa which recommends both DRM (for AM and FM bands) and DAB+. This decision represents a first for digital terrestrial broadcasting anywhere, as it brings together in one policy the two ITU recommended open digital radio standards, DRM and DAB+.

The aim of the directive is to provide a licensing framework and optimum allocation of radio frequencies for the South African three-tier system of public, commercial and community broadcasting services. This will stimulate, where economically feasible, the South African industry in the manufacturing of digital receivers and ancillary gadgets and encourage investment in the broadcasting sector.