Bakom invites tenders for further DAB licenses
Is there a rush toward digital audio broadcasting? The Federal Office of Communications (Bakom) has issued a call for applications for eight additional DAB licenses for private radio broadcasters.
The Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) has invited tenders for eight additional DAB licenses for private radio broadcasters. Previously, the intention was to grant access rights to only five providers, two of which belong to the SRG (see ). Now this number is to be increased to ten. According to Alfons Birrer from Bakom, 13 radio providers have already submitted an application, as reported by Computerworld.ch. The additional licenses are available because, thanks to the doubled transmission capacities on the second DAB platform with the audio codec (MPEG-4), the number of stations can be increased. Due to this changed situation, OFCOM is planning a grace period for further applications until the end of December 2006. The revised Radio and TV Act (RTVA) will come into force from April 2007. If a provider has a frequency, it may then broadcast digitally without a license.
