BBC to fund rollout of DAB radio
October 19, 2011
The BBC will pay for the rollout of digital audio broadcasting (DAB) radio to 97 per cent of the UK population, but culture minister Ed Vaizey has warned that a “huge amount of work” remains to be done to get to switchover.
The corporation’s director of audio and music, Tim Davie, said the BBC would fund the expansion of its national DAB platform – coverage currently stands at just over 90 per cent – “despite the tough financial environment”.
He said that every town with a population of more than 5,000 people would have indoor DAB coverage, but admitted that “small pockets of poor coverage in some of these areas” would remain.
Davie said the priority was “solid coverage” in the UK’s top 25 cities, with boosts to the signal in areas including London, Leicester, Glasgow, Coventry and Swansea.