More new digital radio transmitters have been switched on in the last few months.
Total coverage of the Digital One multiplex in the UK is now around 90% of the population using 160 transmitters. The new transmitters were launched at the end of 2016 and early this year.
The transmitters will improve DAB digital radio coverage in the following areas:
- Stirling area of Scotland, from Earls Hill
- Princetown and the surrounding area of Devon, from North Hessary Tor
- Ixworth area of Suffolk, from Puttocks Hill
- Yeovil area of Somerset, from Coker Hill
- Newry area of County Armagh, from Camlough
The five new transmitters broadcast the national commercial radio stations like talkSPORT, Absolute Radio and Classic FM.
Several relay sites have also been switched on in the last few months. These are lower powered transmitters which improve coverage for specific local areas. Listeners should benefit from the new transmitters in Buckinghamshire, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Kent, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, South Hampshire, Tyne and Wear, Worcestershire and Yorkshire.
These relays also carry the national stations.
The coverage of some local DAB services has also been improved in recent months. New transmitters have been added in Ayr, Berkshire and Northamptonshire, Cornwall, Leicestershire, Northern Ireland, Peterborough, Somertset, Teesside and Wolverhampton and Shropshire.
These local transmitters carry services like BBC Local Radio and local commercial radio stations like Free Radio and kmfm.
It’s estimated that local DAB digital radio now reaches around 90% of homes and 76% if major roads. The national BBC’s national DAB transmitters reach around 97.3% of homes while just over three quarters can receive the new Sound Digital services launched in early 2016.
Some rural areas in the UK still do not receive any DAB digital radio stations. Some parts of the North Pennines and the Lake District rely on FM, medium wave and long wave as well as digital television and the internet for radio reception.