DAB+
The United Kingdom Government has ruled out any transition from DAB to DAB+ for the foreseeable future, a decision backed by the radio industry and radio industry experts the Department of Media, Culture and Sport consulted with. The chief executive of the DRDB, Tony Moretta, mirrored the calls by the radio industry and experts to not adopt DAB+ in the UK. In an interview with the TechRadar website in 2009, he stated that DAB+ was a "red herring" and may not be introduced in the UK for the foreseeable future due to the growing number of digital radio sets currently being sold and used in the future which cannot decode HE-AAC and therefore access DAB+ stations. Moretta also cited greater expense for broadcasters and overall satisfaction with the current audio quality of DAB stations of which a move to DAB+ would only benefit a small number of audiophiles as other reasons. Independent radio analyst Grant Goddard also stated that there was an economic decision not to adopt DAB+ for both the industry and consumers.
The 4Digital Group, led by Channel 4, who were originally awarded the licence to operate the new national DAB multiplex, had planned to launch a podcast service using the DAB+ format.
Despite opposition aired to the Government regarding the introduction of DAB+ in the United Kingdom by the industry and experts, Ofcom began testing DAB+ on the Brighton Experimental ensemble in January 2013 for a period of one month.
Read more about this topic: Digital Radio In The United Kingdom