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BBC - 60 new DAB transmitters in 2011

The BBC will improve national DAB coverage from the current 87% of the population to 92% in the next twelve months.

The BBC will improve national DAB coverage from the current 87%
published on UK Free TV

The BBC Trust's Public Purpose Remits require that the BBC will improve DAB coverage, to meet the requirements of the Digital Economy Act and other expectations.

To improve the national coverage by five percentage points will require the provision of 60 new DAB transmitter sites.

It should be noted that there are diminishing returns for these new transmitter sites - a large number of smaller transmitters are required to fill in the coverage gaps.



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Comments
Saturday, 5 February 2011
Joe
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

10:34 PM

Richard. To listen to my local radio station, Radio Lancashire, is not possible on DAB without an external aerial, so I have either to revert to fm or listen on my Internet radio. Although I am capped at 10gb there's not an issue of being over my limit.

Internet radio has a distinct advantage over dab and that's being able to listen to programmes when you want rather than just when they are broadcast. My favourite station or rather the podcasts are from BBC 7. I do wish they would catalogue them better though because they can be a little troublesome to locate at times.

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Joe's 25 posts GB flag
Monday, 7 February 2011
R
Richard
12:53 AM
Peterborough

Joe: Yes, I agree, having internet radio is an excellent alternative in cases such as yours - or where the broadcast power isn't strong enough. But I think a lot of people are just trying to write off DAB wholesale, without considering the benefits it brings.

Yes, the bitrate isn't what it once was, but if we're honest, you're not really listening for CD-quality music or news if you're in the car, or travelling or something. Functionality is more important.

But at least your local BBC station has actually lanuched on DAB - even if you can't receive it!! Mine hasn't yet (as I said above).

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Richard's 20 posts GB flag
Richard's: mapR's Freeview map terrainR's terrain plot wavesR's frequency data R's Freeview Detailed Coverage
M
michael
sentiment_satisfiedGold

9:16 AM

Listeners whose DAB service is below par DO consider the benefits it brings. They are just waiting for them to arrive. If they do before FM disappears, fine. If for budget and commercial reasons they dont (as with the DTT COM muxes), a new definition of "benefits" will doubtless emerge. DAB only has to be nearly-as-good as FM in terms of choice and coverage for satisfactory portable and mobile reception. Hope springeth eternal...

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michael's 872 posts GB flag
J
Jonathon.
3:04 PM
Braintree

Michael:

"Listeners whose DAB service is below par DO consider the benefits it brings. They are just waiting for them to arrive."

Which funnily enough is exactly how I feel about FM. In my particular corner of not-particularly-rural Essex I get a fine selection of DAB stations upstairs and down without the aid of an external aerial. FM on the other hand gives me a very sparse choice of (non BBC) National broadcasters, is frequently interrupted by passing aircraft, and doesn't give a strong enough signal for stereo listening without the aid of an external aerial. It could (quite reasonably) be argued that if as much money had been put into improving FM coverage as went into rolling out DAB then I'd have been just as happy with FM services as I now am with DAB, but it didn't, and in the current financial climate absence of a solid commitment if DAB went away without a firm commitment to coverage targets I'd be deeply sceptical of either FM or any successor digital technology providing me with a satisfactory replacement...

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Jonathon.'s 12 posts GB flag
Jonathon.'s: mapJ's Freeview map terrainJ's terrain plot wavesJ's frequency data J's Freeview Detailed Coverage
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
M
michael
sentiment_satisfiedGold

9:29 AM

Jonathon : I have the same problem. On FM I get one commercial station (Heart), but not BBC regional; on DAB only Wales - if I jiggle the telescopic aerial and dont move around. I share the concern that budget and profit will determine who gets what in the end. There will be no new investment in FM, so we can but hope for DAB. Major population centres and motorway routes will probably be fine on DAB when all the transmitters are operational. It is the rest of us who may not be content with the upshot...

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michael's 872 posts GB flag
J
John william
5:04 PM

I live in Braintree, north Essex, on high ground and have a 6 element dab roof mounted aerial pointing south / south east, towards London.I don't know what transmitter gave me virtually every station in marvelous rich stereo but for about a year now,I have lost at least half of the transmitted stations. I've re-tuned without success.My aerial hasn't moved either.Please can you help. Thanks.

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John william's 1 post GB flag
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

8:43 AM

John william: Can you say which stations you have lost?

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Gareth Smart
sentiment_satisfiedBronze

9:40 AM

IS there a site at all that you can fee the future locations?

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Gareth Smart's 43 posts GB flag
Briantist
sentiment_very_satisfiedOwner

10:31 AM

Gareth Smart: Not a site, no.

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Briantist's 38,915 posts GB flag
Sunday, 13 March 2011
G
gary
5:47 PM
Haddington

I currently only recieve basic bbc radio DAB and was wondering when the signal will be boosted t recieve other stations like Planet rock, Absolute etc? I am in the Haddington area EH41 4BL.

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gary's 1 post GB flag
gary's: mapG's Freeview map terrainG's terrain plot wavesG's frequency data G's Freeview Detailed Coverage
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