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Identify which areas you wish to broadcast to.

Use the navigation on the right to find out:

  1. The name of the local multiplex
  2. Its owner and operator
  3. Their contact details
  4. The current services that operate on the multiplex
  5. Our view as to the opportunities to contract for capacity

If your strategy is to broadcast on a number of multiplexes or is a multi-platform strategy (i.e. to broadcast on DAB, DTV and the Internet), Folder Media is able to provide guidance and assistance to ensure that your strategy can be achieved in a cost efficient and effective manner.

You will need to contract with a multiplex owner to get access to capacity to broadcast. There are two ways that stations tend to broadcast on DAB Digital Radio. The first ‘DAB’ or sometimes called “regular flavour DAB” is the legacy DAB standard. All DAB radios are able to decode regular DAB. The newer standard is DAB+. This manages to squeeze in higher quality using less space. The positives are that it means you use less bandwidth so the cost is cheaper. However, older radios are not able to decode DAB+ transmissions. There’s no official breakdown of what percentage of actively used digital radios are DAB+ capable, however we believe 50% (and nearly all car DAB radios) is a probable number.

DAB bandwidth tends to be structured below:

  • 128kbit/s (regular DAB in stereo)
  • 112kbit/s (regular DAB in stereo)
  • 96kbit/s (regular DAB in stereo or mono)
  • 80kbit/s (regular DAB in mono)
  • 64kbit/s (regular DAB in mono)
  • 48kbit/s (DAB+ in stereo)
  • 32kbit/s (DAB+ in stereo)
  • 24kbit/s (DAB+ in stereo or mono)

In addition to a contract with a multiplex operator, a potential service provider is required to hold a ’Digital Sound Programme’ (‘DSP’) licence from Ofcom. These licences are issued on request and a single DSP licence covers all digital radio services that a particular person wants to broadcast, on any number of local / regional multiplexes. Further information about Ofcom licences can be found here.

Getting on DAB Digital Radio: Background – The Stages – The CostsDAB Facts

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