In terms of radio broadcasting on the VHF Bands, FM still reigns supreme as it is firmly established and many people find little reason to upgrade to digital DAB / DAB+ services.
All that may be about to change though as a new EU directive says that all new cars must have radios capable of receiving digital radio broadcasts by 2021.
As of December 2019, each EU member country has two years to introduce national legislation in accordance with the EU directive. It is therefore expected that all EU member countries will put in place their respective national laws requiring all new car radios to be capable of receiving and reproducing digital terrestrial radio broadcasting by the end of 2020.
In Europe, the most common form of digital terrestrial radio is DAB/DAB+ and the new directive will mean that these new radios are more widespread.
In Norway, the first country to have switched off national FM services, 98 percent of new cars are equipped with DAB+ radios. In Switzerland, this figure stands at 85 percent, with a digital switch over scheduled to be completed no later than 2024.
Despite the new directive, it's likely that FM broadcasting will remain the mode of choice for many listeners and it's unlikely to be turned off any time soon.
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