Countries broadcasting and planning the roll-out of the DRM standard
Asia:
Indonesia
Indonesia- The policy for radio digitisation has been issued by the Ministry of Communication and Informatics in August 2023.
Indonesia has announced the adoption of DRM for both medium wave (526.5 –
1606.5 kHz) and FM (DRM in VHF Band II (87.0 – 108 MHz) and DRM in VHF Band III (174 – 202 MHz) with the rest of Band III allocated to DAB+. - The public broadcaster, Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) have purchased and installed five DRM FM transmitters in strategic locations on the main island, Java. The transmitters, also equipped with content servers, are capable of broadcasting emergency alerts by using DRMs Emergency Warning Functionality (EWF), integrated in the national disaster warning infrastructure. Transmissions started in 2020.
- This follows the successful DRM tests/demonstrations carried out by RRI in both the AM and FM bands; reports of some of these demonstrations are now ITU reference documents.
- The Ministry of Communication and Informatics is drafting the comprehensive digital radio policy now.
- 5 FM transmitters have already been installed, and 3 ore are in the process of installation
- DRM medium wave and one shortwave transmitter are also planned for key locations (Ring of Fire).
China
China- Three government organisations, NRTA, MIIT and SAMR, officially published a joint document in September 2023, actively guiding the Chinese automotive industry to support DRM in the AM band and encouraging transmission stations
in the provinces to broadcast domestic DRM services. - 31 car manufacturers are involved in this process.
- On 18th September 2024, MIIT and NRTA publicly solicited opinions on the revision and development plan for the mandatory national Standard for ` In-Vehicle Wireless Reception System`. On 25th October 2024 the consultation was concluded with the result that a mandatory national standard should be established.
- The first official meeting of more than 70 companies and institutes was held in Beijing in December 2024. The standard is expected to be launched in September 2025 and the three administrations will actively guide car manufacturers to implement DRM in mediumwave in China.
- The DRM Emergency Warning Functionality (EWF) is being incorporated into the Chinese national emergency broadcasting standard system.
- The YunNan Province has been chosen as a suitable region for testing DRM in cars offering a large-scale DRM coverage. The tests include also the Emergency Warning Functionality (EWF) and Journaline. Other regions to demonstrate DRM in AM and EWF are SiChuan, ChangZhou, JiangSun, KAiFeng and HeNan.
- The country has installed and uses seven DRM shortwave transmitters for domestic coverage (aimed for the large populous region of eastern China, primarily, but also for the rest of the country). They can also be used for overseas transmissions by China Radio International (CRI).
- China National Radio 1 has daily domestic broadcasts in DRM SW towards several regions of the country.
Pakistan
Pakistan- The public broadcaster, Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) has approved DRM as the radio standard for use in all broadcast frequency bands (AM and FM) already in January 2020.
- The Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting reconfirmed on 9th July 2023 that the government had approved the DRM project so that future broadcasts can be heard in clear sound in the entire country and beyond.
- After successfully testing DRM for FM from PBC HQs, the broadcaster is acquiring 29 DRM enabled FM transmitters for 29 cities. Currently PBC broadcasts in analogue with DRM to be switched next year. The status of the DRM project is outlined in the table below:
| Project Name | Status |
| 1000KW MW DRM Transmitter at Rawat Islamabad | Renovation work of infrastructure in progress |
| 100KW MW DRM Transmitter at Quetta, Baluchistan | Civil renovation work of infrastructure in progress |
| 100KW MW DRM Transmitter at Khuzdar, Baluchistan | Civil renovation work of infrastructure in progress |
| 100KW MW DRM Transmitter at Khairpur, Sindh | Tender of 100KW transmitter procurement is in progress |
| Installing 29 DRM enabled FM transmitters in 29 cities of Pakistan | Tender for procurement of 29 FM transmitters is in progress |
- The broadcaster acquired a 5kW DRM FM transmitter to be installed in Lahore. Another 5kW DRM FM transmitter is planned for Islamabad.
Nepal
Nepal- Government approves DRM
(FM for the valleys and SW countrywide). - Pilot service DRM in FM band is continuing for 2 hours a day ???off the air and 24- hour on web.
- Two SW transmitters – 10kW to be run in simulcast
Pacific Region:
New Zealand
New Zealand- The country uses DRM in shortwave for rebroadcasting to the Pacific Islands. Radio New Zealand has recently acquired a new state-of-the-art Ampegon shortwave transmitter, which will improve RNZ’ long-distance broadcasts and distribution to the region: https://s.drm.org/mU2R
Africa:
South Africa
South Africa- The SA government has recommended officially both DRM and DAB+ as solutions for the radio digitisation of the country. The double-headed solution is called Digital Sound Broadcasting (DSB). DSB Services Regulations were issued by the South African Regulator (ICASA) in April 2021.
This follows the DRM successful demonstrations in both AM and FM bands over several years, proving that the standard works very well and without interferences.
The DRM FM demonstration showed there was no interference at all to analogue FM broadcasts in the very crowded spectrum of Johannesburg. It also showed that in the full FM spectrum of Johannesburg up to extra 48 DRM FM stations could be fitted, as well. These DRM demonstration reports are now ITU reference documents.
Southern Africa
Southern Africa
- The Southern African Development Community (SADC), representing sixteen African countries, in conjunction with the Communications Regulators’ Association of
Southern Africa (CRASA), representing their thirteen states, have also recommended DRM and DAB+ for their sixteen member countries. - The African Telecommunications Union (ATU) has made the same recommendation.
North America:
USA
USA- Trans World Radio (KTWR) have regular shortwave transmissions from Guam towards India, Japan, China and other Asian countries.
Europe:
Romania
Romania- Radio Romania International (RRI) is one of the most active international broadcasters using DRM in shortwave with an extensive DRM schedule in several languages, being often listened to and commented on in countries as far apart as India, United States and Brazil.
- Recently Radiocom, the country’s network operator for Radio Romania, upgraded its DRM ContentServer to the latest audio codec, xHE-AAC, including the use of Journaline for their broadcasts.
Germany
Germany- SE-TA 2 is a private, German shortwave station broadcasting via DRM from Waldheim, the Saxony region in East Germany since August 2023 on 6195 kHz.
- “Funklust”, a campus broadcaster at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg has been broadcasting in DRM for FM since 2023. Reception reports received so far confirm that the programmes can be received not only in Germany but also in Russia, the USA, Norway, Finland, and New Zealand.
Previously the country has demonstrated extensively the features and benefits of DRM in all frequency bands. DRM is being used by the German Navy for distribution of data to ships navigating around the world.
Russia
Russia- Due to the current political circumstances, the DRM activity in the FM band has been suspended in Russia.
(DRM was endorsed for the AM bands some years ago. Successful demonstrations took place in Siberia for the AM bands previously and in St. Petersburg – for DRM in FM – in the period 2019 – 2021).
Other Countries Showing Interest in DRM
Pacific Region:
Australia
Australia- Stakeholders in Australia successfully tested DRM in mediumwave (Wangaratta) and FM (Baranduda) between 2019-2022. The demonstrations were carried out using a variety of desktop and professional receivers as well as in cars and on Android devices. A report on the has been shared with the Regulator.
Asia:
Malaysia
Malaysia- The country has been showing interest in DRM and in acquiring AM DRM equipment, as some stakeholders have found it the most suitable radio digital standard for future country-wide deployment.
Bangladesh, 
Vietnam, 
Thailand
Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand- These countries have shown interest in adopting DRM. However, there is no formal decision towards its roll-out, even though they have some equipment either ready for DRM or ready to be upgraded to DRM broadcasting.
Africa:
North and Central Africa
North and Central Africa
- In North Africa, Algeria is still expected to make progress with the DRM roll-out.
- Nigeria – Voice of Nigeria (VoN) has shortwave DRM capability and is known to have broadcast towards Europe from Abuja with reception in Europe and even in North America.
- Central African countries like Chad, Mauritania, Congo etc. have also shown interest in adopting DRM for their domestic and international broadcasts and intend to upgrade their infrastructure to achieve this.
Middle East:
Middle East
Middle East
- Some countries in the region have shown interest in the standard with no formal decision yet and contacts with the Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) are continuing.
Europe:
Hungary
Hungary- Antenna Hungaria, the local network provider installed a few years ago a DRM capable medium wave transmitter with a power of two megawatt.
Denmark
Denmark- The country was testing successfully the use of DRM in the FM band in Greater Copenhagen (reaching even southern Sweden) in 2022.
Czech Republic
Czech Republic - DRM was on a medium wave trial a year ago that used to carry a powerful AM signal. The broadcast was on 954kHz (power reported as 3kW) from the České Budějovice transmitter site, located in the South Bohemian region and re-using the existing AM antenna with a modulator connected to the existing 30 kW AM transmitter.
Additional Information:
🌍 Countries using the DRM standard for shortwave broadcasts
Broadcasters around the world (such as the BBC World Service in the UK) using the DRM standard in shortwave are listed on the DRM website under the heading ‘Broadcast Schedule’: schedule.drm.org
🌍 DRM field trials and demonstrations
- Extensive DRM tests have been conducted throughout the world over many years. The results confirm that the DRM standard (both in the AM and VHF/FM bands), enjoying the same features and benefits across all broadcast bands, performs according to the specifications and that it can be rolled out to meet a wide range of broadcasters’ requirements, coverage needs and in all types of environments.
- Please visit our DRM website where all trials and demonstrations are listed: trials.drm.org.
