The BBC has switched on a national DAB Digital Radio transmitter, increasing coverage of BBC National DAB stations to nearly 98% of UK homes.
More new DAB transmitters have been switched on this year to improve coverage of both BBC and commercial stations. An additional 163 transmitters sites have been launched in this phase of the roll out.
The BBC National DAB group of stations includes national services like BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 4, as well as digital-only stations like BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra.
More than 410 digital radio transmitters provide coverage of the national BBC services. It’s more than 20 years since the first BBC DAB transmitters were switched on in London.
Kieran Clifton, Director, Distribution & Business Development, BBC, says: “This expansion has brought the BBC’s digital radio services to areas of the British Isles previously without access to digital radio via DAB – places like Machynlleth in mid Wales, Guernsey, Ramsey on the Isle of Man, the Isle of Skye, and the Calder Valley in West Yorkshire.”
“We’ve also reinforced coverage in major towns and cities: Aberdeen, Coventry, Eastbourne, Glasgow, and Leicester, to name just a small selection.”
The expansion means more than 400,000 households (around 900,000 people) now have access to national BBC services. Coverage has also been provided on more than 1,400 miles of motorways and A-roads.
The BBC is advising listeners to check their coverage at bbc.co.uk/digitalradio.