Digital Audio Broadcasting

This article is about the DAB standard. For digital audio broadcasting in general, see Digital radio.

Official DAB+ logo[1]
Official DAB logo (1990s–2018)
A Pure branded DAB receiver[2]

Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) is a digital radio standard for broadcasting digital audio radio services in many countries around the world, defined, supported, marketed and promoted by the WorldDAB organisation. The standard is dominant in Europe and is also used in Australia, and in parts of Africa and Asia; as of 2022, 55 countries are actively running DAB broadcasts.[3][4]

DAB was the result of a European research project and first publicly rolled out in 1995, with consumer-grade DAB receivers appearing at the start of this millennium. Initially it was expected in many countries that existing FM services would switch over to DAB, although the take up of DAB has been much slower than expected.[5][6][7][8] As of 2023, Norway is the first country to have implemented a national FM radio switch-off,[9][10] with others to follow in the next years.[11][12][13] In recent years, DAB has become the most popular radio listening platform in Norway, Switzerland and the UK,[14] and has become a requirement for all new cars sold in the EU since 2021.[15]

The original version of DAB used the MP2 audio codec; an upgraded version of the system was later developed and released named DAB+ which uses the HE-AAC v2 (AAC+) audio codec and is more robust and efficient. DAB is not forward compatible with DAB+.[16] Today the majority of DAB broadcasts around the world are using the upgraded DAB+ standard, with only the UK, Romania, Brunei, and the Philippines still using a significant number of legacy DAB broadcasts.

DAB is generally more efficient in its use of spectrum than analogue FM radio,[17] and thus can offer more radio services for the same given bandwidth. The broadcaster can select any desired sound quality, from high-fidelity signals for music to low-fidelity signals for talk radio, in which case the sound quality can be noticeably inferior to analog FM. High-fidelity equates to a high bit rate and higher transmission cost. DAB is more robust with regard to noise and multipath fading for mobile listening,[18] although DAB reception quality degrades rapidly when the signal strength falls below a critical threshold (as is normal for digital broadcasts), whereas FM reception quality degrades slowly with the decreasing signal, providing more effective coverage over a larger area.[citation needed] DAB+ is a "green" platform and can bring up to 85 percent energy consumption savings[19] compared to FM broadcasting (but analog tuners are more efficient than digital ones,[20] and DRM+ has been recommended for small scale transmissions).[21]

Similar terrestrial digital radio standards are HD Radio, ISDB-Tb, DRM, and the related DMB.[22]

  1. ^ "The DAB+ logo and branding kit are free to use for industry stakeholders". 23 October 2022. Archived from the original on 23 October 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  2. ^ "DAB/DAB+ RADIOS". 23 October 2022. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  3. ^ "List of Countries with DAB". 23 October 2022. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
  4. ^ "WorldDAB DAB Global Summary" (PDF). worlddab.org. 29 August 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 31 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  5. ^ "DAB: A very British failure". Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  6. ^ "£21m analogue radio switch-off plan 'a waste of time'". TheGuardian.com. 2 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  7. ^ "BBC Will Keep Broadcasting in FM for "Foreseeable Future" - liGo Magazine". 20 March 2018. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Farewell DAB, the radio technology we didn't need". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 3 September 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Norway becomes first country to end national radio broadcasts". 23 October 2022. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Norway becomes first country to switch off FM radio". 23 October 2022. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Switzerland". 21 October 2022. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Poland". 21 October 2022. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Belgium". 21 October 2022. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  14. ^ "DAB digital radio worldwide" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  15. ^ "DAB+ is confirmed as standard in new cars across Europe - RadioInfo Australia". Archived from the original on 26 June 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  16. ^ (i.e. DAB-only receivers are not able to receive DAB+ broadcasts)
  17. ^ "EBU Viewpoint The future of digital radio" (PDF). ebu.ch. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference tech.ebu.ch was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ "Renaissance of the radio industry in Croatia: 'Broadcasting on digital radio would bring 85 percent energy savings'". 4 December 2022. Archived from the original on 6 February 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  20. ^ "Why do digital radios use more electricity than analogue ones?". The Guardian. 19 April 2017.
  21. ^ "Digital Radio FM Insider: DAB+ Not the Future for Small-scale Broadcasters". 3 June 2014.
  22. ^ "HTTP Post Binding (Request)" (PDF). tech.ebu.ch. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 June 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.