ZAGREB, Croatia � While much of the news about the expansion of DAB is about Norway, other countries in Europe are moving forward, as well.
Croatia’s Electronic Media Agency announced the 16 radio stations that will soon start broadcasting over DAB+. After an initial solicitation intended to gauge the level of interest, 25 applicants were identified; and 18 of those applicants accepted the technical, organizational and financial conditions in their entirety. In the end, the EMA selected 16 of them. FM radio broadcasting in Croatia will continue in parallel to the DAB+ tests, reports telecompaper.com.
In Switzerland, 57% of radio broadcasting is now from digital sources, according to a report from the Digimig working group.�This includes listening to over-the-air DAB, via streaming over the internet, and digital TV. Switzerland also has a substantial amount of in-car listening to digital sources, according to radionytt.no. FM is still the largest radio platform, but its share is now 43%; DAB is at 32% and internet radio/digital TV is 25%. There is a proposal to turn off FM in Switzerland by 2024.�
In Germany, Hansestadt Netzbetreiber Media Broadcast wants, at the beginning of 2018, to start broadcasting with its own digital radio mux, providing coverage in Bremen and Saxony. By the end of 2017 multiplexes in Leipzig and the Erzgebirgsstadt Freiberg will be set up in Saxony, supporting a total of 15 stations. The network operator will be Divicon Media, according to teltarif.de. In Hamburg there is a substantial interest in the regional capacities in the digital radio DAB+ and that has prompted talk about setting up a second private mux. It was recently announced that there might be two MUXs in Berlin � a local only for Berlin and a regional one for Berlin and Brandenburg. There were 24 applicants for the corresponding tender for the Medienanstalt Berlin-Brandenburg, according to the same article.�
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