The Digital Radio Tick Mark scheme has its first formal participant.
The DAB+ products provider Frontier Smart Technologies has become the first company to pass Digital Radio UK’s recently upgraded provider technology testing program known as the Digital Radio Tick Mark scheme.
The tick mark scheme, overseen by DTG Testing, lets consumers know which devices have been tested and approved to meet the U.K. government agreed-upon specification for digital radios. These devices are able to receive FM, DAB and DAB+ stations and are supported by many digital radio manufacturers and retailers.
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The scheme was first introduced in 2014 and was designed to give technology providers the ability to self-certify that their technology met Digital Radio Tick Mark standards. The new updated testing regime requires that DAB+ receiver core technology be certified by an independent third-party testing house using a single set of independently created test files. This is designed to bring a new level of robustness to the Tick Mark approval process.
This new testing program was launched in July 2020 and is being coordinated by the third-party testing lab DTG Testing. Frontier Smart Technologies passed the updated tests with its Siena DAB+ module, which the company said powers more than 3.5 million radios in the market.
“The new Digital Tick technology testing regime is good news for digital radio manufacturers and listeners who can select their technology and radios with confidence when they see the Digital Tick Mark,” said Ford Ennals, CEO of Digital Radio UK.
DTG Testing has licensed and made Fraunhofer DAB ETI files available for brands and manufacturers developing radios. These are a complete set of files with an accompanying test procedure that enables DAB radios to be tested against ETSI TS 103 461, which is the technical spec necessary to obtain the Digital Radio Tick Mark.
More information on the program can be found can be found here.
