WorldDAB and the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) presented a three-day technical webinar series in September.

More than 350 broadcasters, network operators, regulators and other radio stakeholders from over 50 countries participated in the event. 

The webinar was aimed at broadcasters and technical experts in the radio industry who are implementing or planning the rollout of DAB+ digital radio.

It featured leading DAB+ experts from around the globe who explained the features and opportunities that DAB+ offers broadcasters in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The sessions covered DAB+ global status, an update on DAB+ receivers for home and car, the business case for DAB+, technical features, headend and transmitter systems, and DAB+ network design.

Questions raised by participants focussed on how to establish DAB+ in the region, DAB+ receivers range, cost and the ability to display Arab text, business cases and deployment models, and trials before moving towards wider country coverage

In recent years, DAB+ services have grown significantly in the region. In Tunisia, where regular services cover 75 percent of the population, the government is aiming to switch-off of FM services by 2025. Neighbouring Algeria – where a trial launched in 2018 currently covers 68 percent of the capital Algiers – is also planning the migration from FM to DAB+.

Trials have been launched in Oman and Jordan, while Qatar and Kuwait have regular services on air – with 16 stations on-air and 100 percent population coverage for the latter. In Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the government is in the process of introducing regulation requiring radio receivers to include DAB+ digital radio.

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