Spain’s Ministry for Digital Transformation and the Civil Service has opened a public consultation on a draft royal decree to promote terrestrial digital radio using DAB+ technology.
According to the ministry, the initiative marks a key step in the modernization of Spanish radio. The State Secretariat for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure, which published the text, states that DAB+ enables more efficient spectrum use, stronger resistance to interference, and advanced features such as multichannel audio. It also notes that the technology will support the Automatic Security Alert system, which delivers localized emergency messages voiced by announcers, with additional text and images displayed on receivers.
Mandatory transition
For national services, the draft decree states that the transition to DAB+ will be mandatory and synchronized across the country. The public broadcaster RTVE would be assigned a dedicated frequency block, increasing its content capacity, but also obliging it to reach 85% of the population within two years. Private licensees would share a second block, maintaining their current coverage obligations.
The ministry states that the reform does not free up spectrum; therefore, no new radio licenses will be issued. It also stresses that analogue broadcasting on AM and FM will remain unchanged.
For regional and local services, the draft text sets out a two-stage approach. In the first stage, broadcasters may voluntarily adopt DAB+ provided it does not affect other operators or planned channels. In the second phase, each autonomous community will determine the date by which its regional and local networks must synchronize their switch to DAB+.
The public consultation is open until Nov. 4, 2025. You can find more information here.
