Sweden+
The Swedes have become the latest nation to support DAB+ as the future of radio broadcasting.
Teracom, the company which operates the transmission network for public broadcasters in Sweden, is actively pushing for DAB+ to be launched there in the next 12 to 18 months.
Currently they are trialling a DAB+ service in three cities featuring public, commercial and community broadcasters. Like Ireland, they have supplied a panel of listeners with DAB+ receivers, and will include feedback from this panel in their trial results.
The results will then feed back into a review of radio licencing by the Swedish regulator who’ve already received statements from all major broadcasters saying they want digital platforms to be part of future licences.
Teracom pilot project manager Per Werner says the main advantage of DAB+ for Sweden is that it is possible to transmit twice as many stations at half the cost of the analogue network. One of the aims of this DAB+ trial is to show decision makers that the industry is ready for digital radio and that there is demand on government to allow the industry to enter the digital era.
Radio is hugely popular in Sweden where the medium is more widely used on a daily basis than even television or the internet. In a recent survey 45% of Swedes said they would like even more stations on their radios.
Read more on this story in Radio World
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