RTVE presents its renewed push for DAB+

This Tuesday, Torrespaña hosted the presentation ceremony by RTVE of the start of digital radio broadcasts in DAB+ format, a buried project in which the Spanish industry is left behind in the face of a European impulse consolidated especially in Nordic countries.

RTVE has taken advantage of the anniversary of World Radio Day to present the reasons that have led the Spanish Corporation to launch into DAB+ digital radio technology, a standard called to “replace FM” in favor of quality and greater accessibility so that “radio remains in the long term” among the preferences of Spanish citizens.

Recognizing the status of “Iberian exception” compared to its European counterparts, radio and television faces a new stage in the centenary of the beginning of its broadcasts and 23 years after the first attempt to launch the digital radio service under the DAB standard.

Veronica Ollé, director of the RTVE presidential cabinet, has addressed those attending the event confirming that RNE, RNE 3 and RNE 5 will be part of this first deployment along with four territorial stations: Valencia, Seville, Murcia and Bilbao. To do so with the maximum guarantees, RTVE has turned its gaze to consolidated European deployments to ensure the best possible service provision and thus begin a “historic” path.

Antonio Fernandez Paniagua, deputy director general of planning and management of the radio spectrum of the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Public Service, has claimed Spain's role in the launch of digital radio in Spain since 1999, "perhaps too pioneering", although anticipating a transition mechanism from DAB to DAB+.

Likewise, Fernández Paniagua has provided new details of RTVE's plans with respect to DAB+: "It will begin to broadcast in simulcast initially, and put into service four new stations that will provide coverage to a significant percentage of the population where, on an experimental basis, the digital radio services that RNE offers will be put into service with DAB+ technology."

The importance of DAB+ in the European context

Jacqueline Bierhorst, digital radio project manager at NL Netherlands and part of the initiative World DAB+, has supported the start of RNE broadcasts in DAB+ format. In his speech, Bierhost highlighted the role of radio in the world population as a democratic value, entertainment format and solution in critical moments. However, it has also highlighted the new media landscape with new consumer preferences and new audio services, whether live broadcast via IP or on demand.

Therefore, global broadcasting must make a transition to stay relevant in the new context, an impulse that is also being adopted by European administrations with initiatives such as the obligation that all newly manufactured cars sold in Europe must include a DAB+ receiver. Likewise, DAB+ brings additional benefits such as resilience in the case of emergencies or significantly lower consumption than traditional radio transmission methods, a variable that is especially relevant in the face of the climate emergency highlighted by global experts and administrations.

Possibilities of DAB+ in Spain

Tomas Fernando Flores, director of Radio 3 and specialized radio consultant Gorka Zumeta They have agreed that there are still “great milestones” to be met. “It is the beginning of the end of a pending subject,” said Zumeta, recalling that in 2001 he was one of the people who tried to promote digital radio in the context of Cadena Ser. “The arrival of DAB+ is an act of justice in the radio itself and an opportunity because it represents the entry into a new highway to reach new listeners,” although without decisive content that drives this migration it could become a failed process, an opinion shared with the director of Radio 3.

Ramon Salat, director of Audiovisual services at Cellnex, has pointed out that it is time to “look forward” because DAB+ “is the future of radio in Spain”, which makes the representative of the telecommunications company consider that broadcasting is faced with an opportunity to “start over without ballast” with a “lower spectral and energy requirement”.

Salat has also spoken of the deployment of Service Following, which allows you to retune the content on the move not only using DAB+, but also taking in those points where there is still no FM signal coverage.

Next, Javier Sanchez, representative of RTVE in World DAB, has highlighted the historicity of the day both for the radio and for Spain: "Beyond the technological advance, there is one more important thing: the service it provides. The radio was born for everyone, something simple for everyone, and now we must preserve that ease of use for people, because it is one of the things that has made us succeed as a medium (...) There is a risk of disappearing from the car, and together we are going to try to prevent that from happening."

Finally, Angel Garcia Castillejo, director of the audiovisual policies area at RTVE, has criticized himself for the delay in broadcasts by RTVE on DAB+: "We have been committing a serious injustice towards the Spanish citizens, and on this path of innovation there are no longer any excuses: ten years ago the excuse they used ten years ago was there are no receivers. Although it could also be said that "there are no receivers because there is no content"... If we are not able to offer new and innovative content that attracts those sectors that if not We offer them what they are looking for, they are going to go to other areas, the radio will disappear.

To address this problem, it has called on the rest of the private channels in Spain, such as “Onda Cero or Cadena Ser” to make the leap to this digital radio format and for the administrations to build a new Technical Plan for Digital Radio to solve challenges such as frequency management or the issue of piracy. Likewise, he has highlighted the complications that the transition to the digital field has historically entailed within the framework of RTVE, which is why he has dedicated words of affection to the Telecommunications Secretariat, Cellnex and the house's workers for their efforts on a day like today."