12. Conclusions

The DAB+ standard is increasingly being adopted around the globe, with Europe leading the charge in establishing it as the standard of choice for the delivery of multiple radio services to an area. We also see growth in adoption in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Africa. Many of those countries are only just embarking on the journey to develop and deliver digital radio services. This e-book has been developed to provide guidance to new adopters to help them move forward with the hindsight of previous experiences.

Radio broadcasting is a very long-term business, and one which provides essential information and entertainment delivery to the population of every country. It is considered an essential service to the extent that every country has a Public Service Broadcaster and generally also commercial and community operators.

Radio has grown in popularity to the point that in most major cities around the world the spectrum provided in the FM band is insufficient to provide new opportunities and to allow the sustainability of local radio delivery in the light of international competition from streaming giants. DAB+ offers a solution to that challenge where it has been shown to be the best backbone to a multi-service delivery scenario which also includes local IP streaming and on-demand services such as podcasts and audio selection.

The radio ecosystem is complex, making the adoption, establishment and ongoing operation of DAB+ digital radio a challenging exercise. Of all the aspects of that exercise one stands apart as the most crucial, that being communication between the stakeholders. Only when there can be clear dialogue, understanding of differing perspectives and compromise on all sides can the road to success be navigated both successfully and rapidly.

While this e-book provides guidance on the many and varying aspects of DAB+ every country has its own needs and preferred outcomes. Seeking guidance from like-minded countries is a great source of knowledge which can make the journey easier. Indeed, there are many organisations that can assist along the way, most importantly the WorldDAB organisation, which promotes DAB+ and provides assistance and guidance to the global family of adopters.

13. References

[1] EBU Tech 3391, Guidelines for DAB network planning, May 2018

[2] ETSI EN 300 401, Radio Broadcasting Systems; Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) to mobile, portable and fixed receivers

[3] ETSI TS 102 563, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB); Transport of Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) audio

[4] ETSI TS 102 693, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB); Encapsulation of DAB Interfaces (EDI)

[5] ETSI TS 103 461, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB): Domestic and in-vehicle digital radio receivers; Minimum requirements and Test specifications for technologies and products

[6] ITU-R BS.2214-5, Planning parameters for terrestrial digital sound broadcasting systems in UHF bands, 10/2020

[7] ACMA, Planning principles for digital radio, December 2016

[8] ETSI EN 302 307-1, Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB); Second generation framing structure, channel coding and modulation systems for Broadcasting, Interactive Services, News Gathering and other broadband satellite applications; Part 1: DVB-S2

[9] ITU-R document, Recommendation ITU-R P.1546-6, “Method for point-to-area predictions for terrestrial services in the frequency range 30 MHz to 4 000 MHz”, 08/2019

[10] ITU-R document, Recommendation ITU-R P.525-4, “Calculation of free-space attenuation”, 08/2019

[11] ITU-R document, Recommendation ITU-R P.526-15, “Propagation by diffraction”, 10/2019

[12] ITU-R document, Recommendation ITU-R P.1812-6, “A path-specific propagation prediction method for point-to-area terrestrial services in the frequency range 30 MHz to 6 000 MHz”, 09/2021

[13] ETSI TS 103 270, RadioDNS Hybrid Radio; Hybrid lookup for radio services

[14] ETSI TS 102 818, Hybrid Digital Radio (DAB, DRM, RadioDNS); XML Specification for Service and Programme Information (SPI)

[15] EBU Technical Review, “Cost-benefit analysis of FM, DAB, DAB+ and broadband for radio broadcasters and listeners”, Marcello Lombardo, July 2017

[16] Harris Broadcast document, “Economic and Environmental Benefits of DAB+”, Jens Stockman and Les Sabel, February 2014, with subsequent updates by Gates Air

[17] BBC study on “The energy footprint of BBC radio services: now and in the future”, Chloe Fletcher, 3 November 2020

[18] WorldDAB factsheet, “Understanding the environmental impact of DAB+”, www.worlddab.org, April 2021

[19] Norwegian Ministry of Culture, “Norwegian proposal on the digitisation of radio”, 4 February 2011

[20] OFCOM (UK) report, Digital Broadcast Radio Predicted On-Air Coverage London I Block 12C Local DAB Multiplex, September 2018, http://static.ofcom.org.uk/static/ radiolicensing/mcamaps/dl000003.pdf

[21] Norwegian Media Authority, “Digital Radio in Norway”, Line Langnes, 10 November 2016

[22] OFCOM, “Small Scale DAB, The potential for lower-cost transmitting stations in support of DAB rollout”, Rashid Mustapha, 5 October 2013 – see https://www. ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/44808/software-dab-research.pdf

[23] OFCOM (UK) document, “Tynemouth & South Shields Small-scale DAB Coverage and transmitter details (BLOCK 9B)”, February 2022

[24] ITU, GE06 Procedures and List, https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/terrestrial/fmd/Pages/ ge06-list.aspx

[25] ITU, Radio Regulations 2020, https://www.itu.int/hub/publication/r-reg-rr-2020/

[26] ITU-R report, BT.2140-12, ”Transition from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting”, 07/2019

[27] ETSI TS 103 176, “Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB); Rules of implementation; Service information features”