Although many local radio stations are available on digital radio there are some which remain analogue and online only.
You can find out if your favourite local station is on digital radio by browsing the list of stations on your radio, visiting their website or using an online coverage checker. If it is available but your radio doesn’t pick it up you may need to move the radio to improve the chance of receiving the station.
The majority of digital radios do include an FM mode too, so you can switch over and still listen to local, community and student radio stations, plus temporary stations such as those which broadcast during Ramadan.
The UK’s national radio stations are all available on DAB Digital Radio, as are many regional radio stations.
Very few community radio stations are available on digital radio. Most community radio stations are not able to support the cost of FM, online and DAB coverage. A number of trials are taking place around the UK into a new, lower cost approach to digital broadcasts. The trial is set to conclude with a report on the future of these small digital transmitters and could pave the way for local, community and student radio stations, as well as brand new services, to broadcast to small areas.
The line-up of available stations varies across the UK. In Sunderland, for example, you can listen to Smooth, Capital, Heart, Metro Radio and Metro Radio 2 on digital radio, but Sun FM and Sunderland University’s Spark FM are only available on FM and online.