In addition to the various base-band and RF equipment featured by several exhibitors, as well as WorldDAB’s own stand in Hall 8, the footprint of the DAB+ digital radio standard at IBC2025 included its flagship conference session on the show’s Sunday. Hosted in partnership with Broadcast Networks Europe under the headline “Shaping the future of broadcast radio,” the session shared updates as well as lessons learned on the importance of broadcast digital radio. It focused on the latest global deployments and innovations. Bernie O’Neill, WorldDAB project director, opened with a brief update on the latest market developments for the DAB+ digital radio standard.
Lindsay Cornell, chair of the WorldDAB technical committee, presented the latest news on DAB+ Automatic Safety Alert. “The ASA geofencing feature can target users living in any area as small as a square kilometer, avoiding the risk of waking up people unaffected by the alarm in the middle of the night,” said Cornell.
The ASA geofencing feature can target users living in any area as small as a square kilometer, avoiding the risk of waking up people unaffected by the alarm in the middle of the night
Lindsay Cornell, chair of the WorldDAB technical committee
Recent climate events have underlined the urgency of improved emergency plans in continental Europe. On Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, Germany observed its nationwide warning day. At 11 a.m., authorities activated emergency sirens and sent test warning messages via cell broadcast. At the same time, they conducted an extended test of the ASA via DAB+ digital radio. For the first time, warning messages could wake up ASA-enabled devices from standby or switch radios across Germany to emergency content. Several ASA-approved DAB+ receivers are now available in stores.
Cornell also reported on the recent addition of three new DAB+ services to the BBC National ensemble: Radio 1 Anthems, Radio 1 Dance and Radio 3 Unwind. It marks the first time the BBC airs services encoded in the DAB+ format, utilizing the higher-performing HE-AAC v2 coder. With the BBC’s launch, all three of the UK’s national DAB ensembles now feature DAB+ services.
Broadening reach
France once again confirmed its commitment to a fast-paced adoption of the DAB+ standard. As of December 2024, with 684 transmitters on air, DAB+ coverage reached 65% of the population, and 28% of French people owned at least one DAB+ receiver.
“By the end of 2026,” said Raphaël Eyraud, president of towerCAST, “three hundred additional transmitters will widen the reach of the two national ensembles, and DAB+ will be on air in 20 new areas, further expanding the coverage of local and regional broadcasters.
Jens Timmermans, commercial director broadcasting at Cellnex Broadcast Partners, illustrated a clear success case in driving community and local broadcasters to embrace DAB+ in the Netherlands. Through the association of Dutch local public broadcasters Nederlandse Lokale Publieke Omroepen, local stations can broadcast on DAB+ under a fixed, all-inclusive fee: €60/month (plus VAT) for public local broadcasters and €245/month (plus VAT) for commercial license holders. The entire local DAB+ broadcasting network will be online by the end of September 2025.
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