DAB rollout in Italy

After the release of the first licenses for regular  DAB+ services in Italy during the summer,  December saw the first transmitters go online  in the Trentino region. This area has been  selected by the Italian Authority as the first roll  out area for regular digital radio services.

Club DAB Italia switched on two new  transmitters which guarantee coverage of the  cities of Trento (Paganella tx site) and Bolzano (Penegal tx site) and surrounding areas  and roads. Two more transmitters to cover  Rovereto and the rest of the A22 highway in  the Trentino region will follow soon.

Club DAB Italia is also working on the  extension of the test network in Alto Adige,  Veneto and Lombardy which will soon  guarantee continuous coverage from the  Austrian border to Bologna along the A22  highway and to Turin along the A4 highway  with an additional eight transmitters. Also  the most important transmitter for Lombardy  (Valcava) will be upgraded to extend coverage  area and increase reception quality.

This rollout will guarantee excellent indoor  reception in a number of urban areas,  including the cities of Brixten, Meran, Bozen, Trento, Rovereto, Verona, Milan and Turin.  It is engineered to guarantee continuous  coverage of the major highways in northern  Italy allowing listeners to stay tuned to their  favourite DAB station during their car trips.

In the Trentino region digital radio services are  also provided by Rai, the public service, and  DBTAA, a consortium of local broadcasters,  which broadcast also from the Paganella tx  site. A second local multiplex is also expected  to go on air over the next months, which  means that around 40 digital radio programs  will soon be available in this area, provided by  four different multiplexes.

In the adjacent Alto Adige region digital radio  services are already provided by an extensive  DAB network operated by RAS – Rundfunk  Anstalt suedtirol which broadcasts public and  private stations both in Band III and L Band. It is expected that other areas for digital  radio roll out will be announced by the Italian  regulator soon, allowing for the extension of the national networks and the launch of new  local multiplexes during the coming year.

About Club DAB Italia: Club DAB Italia  s.c.p.a. is a consortium of enterprises which  is authorised to operate a national network  provider. The Consortium is a holder of a  broadcasting license for the pilot area Trentino  and for a trial license for all the regions in Italy  where the analogue TV switch-off process has  been completed.

Hanns Wolter
Project Manager, Club DAB Italia
Chair of WorldDMB Regulatory and Spectrum Committee

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