Spain: new DAB+ services. In line with plans announced in December, Spanish public broadcaster RTVE held a ceremony at the Torrespaña to mark the official launch of new DAB+ public services.
Listeners in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Murcia and Bilbao can now enjoy DAB+ broadcasts from Radio Nacional and Radio 5, as well as Radio 3 in Valencia, Seville, Murcia and Bilbao.
"We hope that this is the beginning of the implementation of DAB+ and that it will encourage others to move forward along this path, because in Spain, just as we have advanced technological innovation in digital terrestrial television, we must also do so decisively with digital radio."
Antonio Fernández-Paniagua Díaz-Flores, Deputy Director General of Radio Spectrum Planning and Management at the State Secretariat for Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure (SETELECO).
"We're doing it by looking to Europe, learning from the experiences accumulated by our neighbors in recent years, and banking on technology that helps guarantee the provision of this open public radio service for all," Verónica Ollé Sesé, RTVE's Presidential Cabinet Director.
WorldDAB Forum President Jacqueline Bierhorst said the association welcomes RTVE's efforts and is ready to support the roll-out. The event was also attended by Ángel García Castillejo, Director of Audiovisual Policies at RTVE's International Department; Tomás Fernando Flores, Director of Radio 3; Javier Sánchez Pérez, RTVE representative on the WorldDAB Steering Committee; Gorka Zumeta, Radio and Podcast Consultant; and Ramón Salat, Director of Opportunities at Cellnex Telecom.