No more sizzling and no more holding back the frequency.
Deployed without disconnecting the good old FM band, DAB +, or digital terrestrial radio, will bring a small revolution in the uses of listeners.
It is a project of the Superior Audiovisual Council (CSA), launched in the early 2000s, which has gradually come to fruition since 2018 and took an additional step this Tuesday with the arrival of thirteen new stations - including Nova , Sud Radio or even Oui FM - in the Paris Basin.
Paris and its region already received sixty-one and the most populous region of France is thus covered at 75%.
This new technology will be at the heart of the first “Radio Festival”, scheduled across France from May 31 to celebrate the history of this medium, from the first radio broadcasts issued a hundred years ago to today. hui passing by the 40 years of the release of the FM band.
Small reminder of the main principles of DAB +.
What is Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB +)?
Since its invention, the radio has passed through radio waves sent over a specific frequency band, FM.
Saturated, the latter cannot accommodate new stations and sometimes suffers from emission problems.
Like its television cousin, DTT, DAB +, formerly called digital terrestrial radio, is transmitted in a digital format.
As a result, thirteen stations fit on a single frequency and the transmitter can transmit useful metadata, such as the title of a song or its performer.
What does it bring to our sweet ears?
"The most important difference is the quality of the sound which passes in high definition and that is heard", assures Hervé Godechot, the president of the working group "radios and digital audio" at the CSA.
No interference with another radio either and no interference, the signal is crystal clear and the audio reaches CD quality, therefore superior to streaming on an application or website.
How do I listen to my favorite station?
With a national coverage rate that has crossed 30%, DAB + is gradually arriving in French homes, provided you have the right set.
The latest studies show that the equipment rate hovers around 13%.
But a great fundamental movement is taking place, because all the radios sold for two years have a compatible DAB + chip and, recently, all car manufacturers are also required to include in their new vehicles a car radio compatible with this. numerical format.
Which radios have converted to it?
All Radio France stations have taken the plunge for several years, followed by associative radios and part of the bouquet of private radios.
But heavyweights like RTL, France's second-largest radio station, or Skyrock are still not broadcast in DAB + nationally or in living areas.
The Superior council of audio-visual fixed next July 15 the authorization to emit in DAB + of 25 stations of which Chérie FM, Europe 1, Nostalgie, NRJ, RMC, and Skyrock.
However, this deployment, costly in the network of transmitters, still generates some frictions and awkward silences, in particular at RTL which did not wish to confirm the schedule of its arrival on DAB +.