Switzerland to turn off analog FM at the end of 2024

With a penetration of 90% throughout the territory, Switzerland will replace the analog FM band with digital broadcasts in DAB+.

According to the latest figures, only 12% of listeners continue to listen to radio programs only through FM while a 88% of users use digital reception either through DAB+, DTT or Internet broadcasts.

In 2020, 42 of the 44 Swiss broadcasters and the RSS had agreed to an early and phased closure of FM stations. But the case took a political turn. The pioneer of private radio in Switzerland, Roger Schawinski, delivered a petition in Bern with more than 60,000 signatures against the interruption of FM.

Now, the Council of States, the upper house of the Swiss Federal Assembly, has finally given the green light to the blackout despite the fact that reception in vehicles is not yet widespread and there are large mountainous areas without DAB+ coverage.

To date no European country, except Norway, has renounced FM.