Editing Digital Audio Broadcasting (section)

{{Short description|Digital radio standard}}
{{about|the DAB standard|digital audio broadcasting in general|Digital radio}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}} 

[[File:DAB+ logo.svg|thumb|Official DAB+ logo<ref>{{cite news |title=The DAB+ logo and branding kit are free to use for industry stakeholders |date=23 October 2022 |url=https://www.worlddab.org/resources/logo |access-date=1 July 2023 |archive-date=23 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023152152/https://www.worlddab.org/resources/logo |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
[[File:DAB Logo.svg|thumb|Official DAB logo <small>(1990s–2018)</small>]]
[[File:DAB Radio 07.jpg|thumb|A ''[[Pure (company)|Pure]]'' DAB receiver<ref>{{cite news |title=DAB/DAB+ RADIOS |date=23 October 2022 |url=https://www.pure.com/en-GB/audio-hifi/radios/dab/dab+-radios/c/type_DABRadios |access-date=1 July 2023 |archive-date=6 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406044422/https://www.pure.com/en-GB/audio-hifi/radios/dab/dab+-radios/c/type_DABRadios |url-status=live }}</ref>]]

'''Digital Audio Broadcasting''' ('''DAB''') is a [[digital radio]] [[international standard|standard]] for [[broadcasting]] [[digital audio radio service]]s 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 as of 2025, [[countries using DAB/DMB|55 countries]] are actively running DAB broadcasts as an alternative platform to analogue FM.<ref name="auto3">{{cite news |date=23 October 2022 |title=List of Countries with DAB |url=https://www.worlddab.org/countries |access-date=16 October 2019 |archive-date=13 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013011516/https://www.worlddab.org/countries |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=29 August 2018 |title=WorldDAB DAB Global Summary |url=https://www.worlddab.org/public_document/file/1048/Global_Summary_24.09.18.pdf |website=worlddab.org |access-date=31 October 2018 |archive-date=31 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031133259/https://www.worlddab.org/public_document/file/1048/Global_Summary_24.09.18.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

DAB was the result of a European research project and first publicly rolled out in 1995, with consumer-grade DAB [[Radio receiver|receivers]] appearing at the start of this millennium. Initially it was expected in many countries that existing [[FM broadcasting|FM]] services would switch over to DAB, although the take-up of DAB has been much slower than expected.<ref>{{cite web |title=DAB: A very British failure |url=https://www.theregister.com/2008/03/06/dab_fail/ |access-date=3 September 2022 |archive-date=3 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220903195530/https://www.theregister.com/2008/03/06/dab_fail/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=2 July 2012 |title=£21m analogue radio switch-off plan 'a waste of time' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/jul/02/analogue-radio-switch-off-pan |website=[[TheGuardian.com]] |access-date=3 September 2022 |archive-date=3 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220903195527/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/jul/02/analogue-radio-switch-off-pan |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 March 2018 |title=BBC Will Keep Broadcasting in FM for "Foreseeable Future" - liGo Magazine |url=https://ligo.co.uk/blog/bbc-keep-broadcasting-fm/ |access-date=3 September 2022 |archive-date=1 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701082702/https://ligo.co.uk/blog/bbc-keep-broadcasting-fm/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Farewell DAB, the radio technology we didn't need |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/farewell-dab-the-radio-technology-we-didn-t-need-1.4500405 |access-date=3 September 2022 |archive-date=3 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220903195524/https://www.irishtimes.com/business/media-and-marketing/farewell-dab-the-radio-technology-we-didn-t-need-1.4500405 |url-status=live }}</ref> {{as of|2023}}, [[Norway]] is the first country to have implemented a national FM radio switch-off,<ref>{{cite news |date=23 October 2022 |title=Norway becomes first country to end national radio broadcasts |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/13/norway-becomes-first-country-to-end-national-radio-broadcasts-on-fm |access-date=1 July 2023 |archive-date=5 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230205182140/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/13/norway-becomes-first-country-to-end-national-radio-broadcasts-on-fm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=23 October 2022 |title=Norway becomes first country to switch off FM radio |url=https://www.thelocal.no/20171213/norway-becomes-first-country-to-switch-off-fm-radio/ |access-date=1 July 2023 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604081358/https://www.thelocal.no/20171213/norway-becomes-first-country-to-switch-off-fm-radio |url-status=live }}</ref> with others to follow in the next years, <ref name="auto1">{{cite web |date=21 October 2022 |title=Switzerland |url=https://www.worlddab.org/countries/switzerland/ |access-date=21 October 2022 |archive-date=21 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021213222/https://www.worlddab.org/countries/switzerland/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{cite web |date=21 October 2022 |title=Poland |url=https://www.worlddab.org/countries/poland#news/ |access-date=21 October 2022 |archive-date=21 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021213222/https://www.worlddab.org/countries/poland#news/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite web |date=21 October 2022 |title=Belgium |url=https://www.worlddab.org/countries/belgium#news/ |access-date=21 October 2022 |archive-date=21 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221021213224/https://www.worlddab.org/countries/belgium#news/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Switzerland]] and the [[United Kingdom|UK]]<ref name="worlddab.org">{{Cite web|title=DAB digital radio worldwide|url=https://www.worlddab.org/public_document/file/1558/WorldDAB_infographic_H2_2021_FINALr1.pdf?1678185075|access-date=1 July 2023|archive-date=26 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230626153617/https://www.worlddab.org/public_document/file/1558/WorldDAB_infographic_H2_2021_FINALr1.pdf?1678185075|url-status=live}}</ref>. Terrestrial digital radio has become a requirement for all new cars (not busses and trucks) sold in the EU since 2021.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=DAB+ is confirmed as one standard in new cars across Europe - RadioInfo Australia|work=RadioInfo Australia |date=16 February 2022 |url=https://radioinfo.com.au/news/dab-is-confirmed-as-standard-in-new-cars-across-europe/|access-date=1 July 2023|archive-date=26 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230626153622/https://radioinfo.com.au/news/dab-is-confirmed-as-standard-in-new-cars-across-europe/|url-status=live |last1=Stamm |first1=Wayne }}</ref>

The original version of DAB used the [[MPEG-1 Audio Layer II|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+.<ref>(i.e. DAB-only receivers are not able to receive DAB+ broadcasts)</ref> Today the majority of DAB broadcasts around the world are using the upgraded DAB+ standard, with only the UK still using a significant number of legacy DAB broadcasts.

DAB is generally more efficient in its use of spectrum than [[analog signal|analogue]] [[FM broadcasting|FM]] radio,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ebu.ch/files/live/sites/ebu/files/Publications/EBU-Viewpoint-Digit-Radio_EN.pdf |title=EBU Viewpoint The future of digital radio |work=ebu.ch |access-date=6 March 2020 |archive-date=28 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128054658/https://www.ebu.ch/files/live/sites/ebu/files/Publications/EBU-Viewpoint-Digit-Radio_EN.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> 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 interference|multipath]] [[fading]] for mobile listening,<ref name="tech.ebu.ch" /> although DAB reception quality degrades rapidly when the signal strength falls below a critical threshold (as is normal for [[digital broadcasting|digital broadcasts]]), whereas FM reception quality degrades slowly with the decreasing signal, providing more effective coverage over a larger area.{{Citation needed|date=July 2022}} DAB+ is a "[[Environmental technology|green]]" platform and can bring up to 85 percent energy consumption savings<ref>{{cite web |date=4 December 2022 |title=Renaissance of the radio industry in Croatia: 'Broadcasting on digital radio would bring 85 percent energy savings' |url=https://www.poslovni.hr/hrvatska/hrvatska-je-sazrela-za-dab-tehnologiju-nase-trziste-je-spremno-emitiranje-na-digitalnom-radiju-donijelo-bi-85-posto-ustede-energije-4365239 |access-date=1 July 2023 |archive-date=6 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230206052205/https://www.poslovni.hr/hrvatska/hrvatska-je-sazrela-za-dab-tehnologiju-nase-trziste-je-spremno-emitiranje-na-digitalnom-radiju-donijelo-bi-85-posto-ustede-energije-4365239 |url-status=live }}</ref> compared to FM broadcasting (but analog tuners are more efficient than digital ones,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/apr/19/digital-analogue-radio-electricity-notes-queries|title=Why do digital radios use more electricity than analogue ones?|date=19 April 2017|work=The Guardian}}</ref> and [[DRM+]] has been recommended for small scale transmissions).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://digitalradioinsider.blogspot.com/2014/05/small-scale-broadcasters-should-not-go.html|title=Digital Radio FM Insider: DAB+ Not the Future for Small-scale Broadcasters|date=3 June 2014}}</ref>

Similar [[radio|terrestrial]] digital radio standards are [[HD Radio]], [[ISDB-Tb]], [[Digital Radio Mondiale|DRM]], and the related [[digital multimedia broadcasting|DMB]]. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tech.ebu.ch/modules/SamlLogin?goto=https%3A%2F%2Ftech.ebu.ch%2Ffiles%2Flive%2Fsites%2Ftech%2Ffiles%2Fshared%2Fdigitalradio%2FWBU%2BRadio%2BTechologies%2BGuide.pdf|title=HTTP Post Binding (Request)|website=tech.ebu.ch|access-date=1 July 2023|archive-date=22 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622005351/https://tech.ebu.ch/modules/SamlLogin?goto=https://tech.ebu.ch/files/live/sites/tech/files/shared/digitalradio/WBU+Radio+Techologies+Guide.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>  Also [[5G Broadcast]] is developing globally for radio and television broadcasting. This system will for the first time enable digital terrestrial radio reception also in smartphones.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://digitalradioinsider.blogspot.com/2025/03/smartphones-fuel-revolution-for.html|title=Smartphones Fuel A Revolution For Terrestrial Linear Radio and TV|date=26 March 2025}}</ref>