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South Tyrol has taken a decisive step toward a fully digital radio landscape, though not yet a complete FM shutdown. In mid‑April, the province’s public broadcasting agency, Rundfunkanstalt Südtirol or Radiotelevisione Azienda Speciale in Italian (RAS), confirmed the switch‑off of all remaining FM transmitters for Radio Rumantsch, which serves the Romansh-speaking population in Graubünden, Switzerland, marking the end of that network’s analog era. The move underscores the province’s steady, technically driven transition toward a digital‑first broadcast ecosystem.
For a mountainous region with a multilingual audience and a complex cross‑border media environment, the shift is more than a technical milestone. It reflects a long‑term commitment to spectrum efficiency, operational sustainability and resilient public‑service broadcasting.
Reaching digital critical mass early
South Tyrol embraced DAB+ long before most European markets. FM coverage in the Alps required dozens of low‑power transmitters to reach narrow valleys and remote communities. DAB+ changed that equation. Single‑frequency networks allowed RAS to cover the same territory with far fewer sites, lower energy consumption and more consistent reception.
By the mid‑2010s, DAB+ coverage had already exceeded FM. From that point, the direction was clear. RAS began a phased reduction of FM transmitters, prioritizing areas with strong digital coverage and low analog usage.
The most recent milestone came this April, when RAS switched off Radio Rumantsch’s remaining FM transmitters. RAS Director Georg Plattner said, “We have not switched off all FM transmitters. Only those of Radio Rumantsch. The FM transmitters of Ö1, ORF Radio Tirol, and Ö3 are still in operation. However, even within these transmitter networks, we have already shut down half of the transmitters.”
The result is a region where digital radio is the dominant distribution layer for public broadcasting, and where FM now plays a diminishing but not yet eliminated role.
Several structural factors accelerated the transition. South Tyrol’s Alpine geography has long made FM both inefficient and costly, whereas DAB+ delivers broader, more stable coverage with fewer transmitters. The region’s multilingual broadcasting environment — spanning German, Italian and Ladin services — also places greater demand on capacity, something DAB+ is better equipped to handle by accommodating multiple public broadcasters simultaneously.
At the same time, cross-border alignment has reinforced the shift, with neighboring countries, particularly Switzerland, already well advanced in their own FM phase-outs, creating regional momentum. Strong in-car adoption of DAB+ over several years has further reduced the risk of listener disruption. For RAS, the transition was not ideological, but a technical and economic inevitability.
RAS also identified multiple engineering-driven advantages that underpin its ongoing move away from FM. Significantly, a single DAB+ transmitter can carry up to 16 programs, requiring just 1.5 MHz of spectrum for a full multiplex. In operational terms, a complete DAB network consumes roughly one-quarter of the energy required for an equivalent FM network. For a region focused on environmental responsibility and long-term cost control, these combined advantages are substantial.
New public funding
In late March, the provincial government approved €6.06 million in funding for 2026 to support the next phase of RAS’s digital infrastructure development. The investment is directed toward modernizing mountaintop transmitter sites, expanding both DAB+ and DVB-T2 capacity, improving redundancy in remote and high-altitude areas and ensuring the long-term sustainability of the public broadcast network.
The funding reflects a clear political consensus in favor of South Tyrol’s digital-only strategy. Broadcasting infrastructure is treated as an essential public service, with digital distribution positioned as the most efficient and future-facing means of delivery.
For South Tyrol’s broadcasters, reducing FM coverage simplifies network operations and lowers long-term costs. Maintaining analog transmitters across alpine terrain has historically required significant energy, logistics and maintenance resources. A unified digital network is easier to manage, more flexible to upgrade and capable of supporting a broader range of public-service content.
For listeners, the transition delivers a wider station lineup, more consistent audio quality across the region and improved reception, particularly in cars and tunnels. It also aligns with broader European digital policy, offering a platform designed for long-term resilience. The primary challenge remains accessibility, especially among older audiences who may not yet have DAB+ receivers. RAS continues to address this through targeted communication campaigns and partnerships with retailers and automotive dealers.
A practical model
While Radio Rumantsch no longer broadcasts on FM, other services, including Ö1, ORF Radio Tirol and Ö3, remain, although around half of their transmitters have been decommissioned. DAB+ now provides full regional coverage and has become the primary platform for public radio.
South Tyrol’s experience offers a practical model for the wider industry. It demonstrates that FM switch-off can be achieved without a national mandate, that digital radio can outperform FM in challenging terrain and that public infrastructure operators can drive innovation when supported by consistent long-term policy. The phased, incremental shutdown of FM services has also helped to minimize listener disruption while building confidence in the new platform.
For broadcasters, regulators and network operators across Europe, the region provides a clear example of how a fully digital broadcast ecosystem can be implemented through a combination of technical discipline and political alignment.
The author was a broadcast and facilities manager for several public and commercial media companies. He also spent several years as an R&D manager at a Dutch full-service FM and DAB+ broadcast provider and now works as a freelance writer and media consultant in the Netherlands.
This story originally appeared in the May/June 2026 edition of RedTech Magazine. You can read or download that edition for free here.
You can access all past RedTech publications, also for free, here.
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