Government Ministries, car manufacturers and the radio industry today gathered in Brussels on Wednesday at WorldDAB’s ‘Drive to Digital – Europe’ event to push for further adoption of DAB digital radio in the car.
At the event, it was revealed that 56 percent of European citizens are now able to receive DAB / DAB+ services, with progress most advanced in countries with national DAB coverage – Germany, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Norway and Denmark.
These seven markets collectively account for 60 percent of all European new car sales.
With France and Belgium now taking their first significant steps in the roll-out of digital radio, established DAB markets are expected to soon account for nearly 80 percent of new car sales in Europe.
Patrick Hannon, President of WorldDAB, said: “DAB is establishing itself as the core future platform for radio in Europe with DAB services now available to 291 million people across the continent. For motorists, the only way to receive all available free-to-air radio services in Europe is through radios with both analogue and DAB/DAB+ capability.
In the UK, Norway and Switzerland most new cars now come with DAB radio as standard. With cross-border travel increasingly common and the first countries setting dates for the switch off of analogue services, it’s time for FM / DAB / DAB+ to be fitted as standard across Europe. A clear statement of support from European Institutions would accelerate this process.”
Speakers at the Drive to Digital event included senior officials from Ministries in three leading digital radio markets: Ian O’Neill from the DCMS in the UK, Frank Krüger from the BMVI in Germany and Jos de Groot from the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs, along with Francois-Xavier Bergot from French regulator the CSA.
Krüger, Director, Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, (BMVI), Germany, said: “In our view DAB is of great benefit to society: low transmission costs allow a wider range of programmes and services, limited spectrum is used more efficiently and the quality of broadcast signals is improved by digital transmission. Furthermore, broadcasting vital, high quality traffic information via DAB can make a decisive contribution to increasing transport efficiency and reducing the number of traffic fatalities.”
Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, United Kingdom, said: “UK Government is committed to rolling out DAB digital radio, and Britain is leading the way with around 80% of new cars already featuring DAB. A wider variety of stations and better reception are just some of the benefits of having DAB digital radio and we’d like to see it adopted as widely as possible. Rollout across Europe is an important next step and will require close collaboration between government and industry, which is why events like today’s are so important.”
Speakers from Audi and Fiat also explained the reasons they are now fitting DAB in more models across Europe.
Helen Boaden, Director of Radio at The BBC and President of the European Digital Radio Alliance and Mike Hawes, CEO of the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) both made clear their support for measures which would accelerate the roll-out of digital radio in cars.