The DRM Consortium reports that the Digital Radio Mondiale standard emerged as a central focus at the China Content Broadcasting Network exhibition, held April 22-24 at the China National Convention Centre in Beijing, as China continues moving toward wider deployment of digital medium-wave and shortwave radio services.
According to the consortium, CCBN 2026 demonstrated that China’s DRM activity is moving beyond standards adoption into broader field testing, product development and domestic industrialization. The annual event, organized by the Academy of Broadcasting Science and China’s National Radio and Television Administration, brought together broadcasters, regulators, universities, research institutes and technology manufacturers from across the country.
DRM said member companies, including Beijing BBEF Science & Technology, Fraunhofer IIS, RFmondial and SimReal Technology, demonstrated a full professional DRM broadcast chain aligned with both the DRM standard and China’s GY/T 423-2025 specification. The systems shown ranged from head-end platforms and multichannel modulators to monitoring receivers and SDR-based consumer, mobile and automotive radio implementations.
DRM placed a major emphasis on its Emergency Warning Functionality, which the consortium described as a key driver in China’s radio digitization planning. Fraunhofer IIS and SimReal Technology also demonstrated a geofencing-based automotive alert system that wakes in-vehicle radios within defined geographic zones and delivers targeted emergency warnings to drivers.
The consortium added that growing receiver development, automotive testing and new domestic DRM-capable product lines presented at CCBN point to increasing readiness as China works toward a national rollout of DRM and CDR digital radio.
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