LONDON�Ofcom�s small-scale DAB trial in the city of Portsmouth has begun, and the roll out of the remaining eight trials in cities across the UK will start in the coming weeks. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is funding Ofcom’s work on how small stations could access DAB digital radio and the equipment available for these trials as part of its digital radio policy, according toDigital Radio UK.
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The Portsmouth services form the second of ten trial licenses that have been awarded for small- scale DAB multiplexes bringing radio listeners a range of small and local stations on DAB digital for the first time. The areas to benefit from the ten licenses are Portsmouth, Brighton and Hove, Aldershot, Bristol, Norfolk, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, London and Cambridge, bringing no less than 60 programs to the radio, offering a wide variety of services including small local, community and student stations.
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Peter Davies, Ofcom Director of Content Policy, said: “There’s been huge interest in these trials, which are another step in bringing new local services to digital radio listeners. Ofcom is helping unlock the potential of this new approach and, if it proves successful, millions of radio listeners could benefit right across the UK.”
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The UK’s first experimental small scale DAB multiplex was set up in 2012, pioneered by Ofcom engineer Rashid Mustapha, who was granted a test license and installed a low power digital radio transmitter on a Brighton roof-top.
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