Dear Friends, Colleagues and Partners,
What a couple of weeks we have had! It all kicked off end of January with the presence of international and Indian DRM members at the BES exhibition and conference in New Delhi, India. The best and most complete presence we have had so far. If you were not there, please enjoy the guided tour with the video of the exhibition at the DRM booth.
The intense activity at BES continued with the presence of DRM key representatives at the car industry 4-day mobility week where they established the link between DRM digital radio and a safer environment on the Indian roads.
And let us not forget the World Radio Day, which is a third first for the DRM Consortium. Never has the not-for-profit consortium had so much exposure with two training sessions on distance education enabled by the DRM platform, accompanied by global and multi-language broadcasts on the five continents and with exciting announcements on DRM FM and education content beamed locally around Johannesburg on the anniversary of resilient and trusted digital radio.
Now we are preparing for the DRM General Assembly, confirmed for May 5-6 in Jakarta, Indonesia. You are warmly invited to participate in the one, VIP Day, on May 5th.
In 2026 we keep open the invitation to join us as a free member. If interested, please make sure to get all the information.
Latest News
DRM Unveils New DRM Developments to India at BES 2026
Under the title DRM Digital Radio – One Nation, One Standard the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) Consortium showcased DRM’s broadcast-proven capabilities and on-the-road readiness fitting perfectly the needs of India at the 30th BES International Conference & Exhibition on Broadcast & Media Technology, held 29–31 January 2026 in New Delhi.“
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The novel exhibits and the DRM BES effort were captured by the Indian and international press:
📄 India’s industry backs DRM as best digital FM solution at BES Expo 2026 – broadcastandcablesat.co.in
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📄 DRM outlines FM digitization pathway for India at BES Expo 2026 – RedTech
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📄 At BES EXPO, DRM demonstrates it’s already proven in India – RadioInfo Asia
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Some of our members’ voices from BES Expo 2026:
📌 Overview and further resources on DRM @ BES 2026 are available at www.drm.org/bes-2026.
DRM Invites You for A guided Tour and the Latest from the BES DRM Stand
If you want to get a quick update and fix on all things DRM, please watch the following video.
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DRM – Resilient and Ready to Save Lives on Indian Roads
The DRM Consortium, with the support of its members Inntot Technologies, OptM Solutions, and Fraunhofer IIS, participated as the Platinum Partner at the SAFAR 2nd Summit for Automotive Future Advancement in Road Safety (SAFAR), held during the Sustainable Mobility Week organized by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
📄 SIAM Hosts 2nd SAFAR Summit – siam.in
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The press and social media also highlighted the DRM position:
DRM Receiver in Over 13 million Indian Cars
Over 13.2 Crore DRM-enabled cars are on Indian roads today, and it is expected that this number will grow in 2026.
The radio receiver industry both in India and abroad has invested millions of dollars in the development of DRM digital radio capable receivers for use in Indian cars.
And here is more of a background: 📄
The DRM Success Story of Indian Automotive Industry 13.2 million Cars on the Indian Roads.
Also, good news from one of our key Indian members:
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DRM Shines on UNESCO World Radio Day
The DRM Consortium members have put more effort than ever this year to celebrate the UNESCO World Radio Day.
In the words of Mirta Lourenço, Chief Media Development and Media in Emergency, UNESCO: ”this edition of World Radio Day was centred on the “Radio and AI” and has therefore required technical insight combined with vision, and a kind of willingness to explore new possibilities for radio. I feel everybody embraced that challenge with remarkable spirit, developing initiatives, mobilizing networks and members, or contributing with know-how, and all this helped ensure that WRD 2026 inspires broadcasters to approach artificial intelligence with confidence and a commitment to the values we share. Among the many valuable contributions, the initiatives led this year by ASBU, COPEAM, DRM, and EBU enriched the celebrations in a generous way.”
The DRM activities on the day were split three ways: DRM live workshops on distance education and AI demonstrations, live broadcasts throughout the day with educational continent to all the five continents and a first ever local DRM broadcast with educational content in South Africa.
📄 DRM highlights global broadcasts, new launches and AI demonstration on World Radio Day – RedTech
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👍 UNESCO
👍 RedTech
👍 DRM
👍 Encompass
👍 CML Micro
👍 DRM South Africa Group
📌 For an overview of the UNESCO World Radio Day 2026, including DRM’s AI-enabled e-learning demonstrations and global broadcasts, visit our page: drm.org/wrd-2026.
DRM On World Radio Day on Web TV
🎞️ DRM UNESCO World Radio Day – WebinarTV
Insights
DRM is an ITU‑endorsed, open digital radio standard that can deliver high-quality audio plus structured multimedia (Journaline) across shortwave, medium wave, long wave and FM bands. Combined with local Wi‑Fi hotspots at receiving sites and AI-assisted workflows (translation and text‑to‑speech), DRM enables scalable, low-cost distance education and emergency messaging in multi‑lingual, infrastructure-poor contexts. Success depends on collaboration with national broadcasters, regulators and ministries of education, plus availability of receivers and localized curricula.
Actions:
✓ Write to projectoffice@drm.org to get involved or report reception.
✓ Check the broadcast schedule and resources at schedule.drm.org and e-learning.drm.org.
✓ Join the DRM General Assembly and open seminar in Jakarta (in‑person or via Zoom): drm.org/ga-2026.
✓ Consider joining the DRM Consortium as a member to participate in broadcasting and pilot programs.
DRM in South Africa – Another First on World Radio Day
After the first DRM in FM trial in South Africa and Africa as a whole (with the community station Kofifi/Wecodec in Johannesburg) previously, on World Radio Day there was another excellent development. In a first of its kind in the world, the DRM South Africa Group officially launched a DRM in FM demonstration and showcase on Friday, 13 February marking an important step in South Africa’s journey toward digital sound broadcasting. The DRM in FM demonstration was a broadcast of a live digital radio signal from a high site in Northcliff, Johannesburg, operating at 70 watts transmitter output.
As part of the World Radio Day programme, the DRM in FM demo was used to showcase education focused and informational digital radio content, demonstrating how DRM can support learning, accessibility, and public communication through data services such as Journaline. On 91.25 MHz multiple radio services were carried simultaneously on a single FM frequency, including Radio Pulpit, Hot 102.7, amongst others.
Demonstrating how DRM digital broadcasts can deliver distance learning content – audio lessons supported by Journaline-based digital textbooks, images, and guided activities.
For more details on this demonstration please listen and watch:
🎞️ South Africa Launches DRM in FM Demonstration – YouTube
🎙️ From FM to DRM: how HOT 102.7 is helping shape the future of radio – Interview from HOT 102.7
DRM Broadcasts Education Content to 5 Continents on World Radio Day
DRM partners sent transmissions on shortwave across five continents. In the days following the broadcasts, DRM received reception reports from listeners across the globe including Austria, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, France, India, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, The Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Slovenia, USA,. These recordings underscore the technical reach of these first global simultaneous demonstrations of the power of DRM digital radio.
Here are some received:
• 5 min excellent audio (YouTube)
• Wang Zidong wrote form Beijing, China as he received the station from Europe 15.08-15.42 UTC
The demo content can also be experienced via e-learning.drm.org.
DRM General Assembly in Indonesia in May
Preparations are underway for the 2026 DRM General Assembly, to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 5-6. The DRM General Assembly will be held in partnership with our key member Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI), a first for RRI and the DRM not-for-profit Consortium as well.
📌 Continuously updated information and further resources on the DRM General Assembly 2026 are available at www.drm.org/ga-2026.
Videos
Around the Web
📄 Nautel Adapts to Shifting Technology Winds – Radio World
📄 Radio stands firm in a digital world – Radio Angulo
📄 U.K. Launches Review of the Radio Industry – Radio World
📄 Ministers kick off review to safeguard radio’s future – gov.uk
📄 Radio Free Asia resumes broadcasts to China after Trump cuts forced near closure – The Guardian
📄 MTM reports 70% radio reach among English-speaking Canadians – RedTech News
Upcoming Events
📅 22–24 Mar | RadioDays Europe, Riga, Latvia
📅 30 Mar-2 Apr | ABU Digital Broadcasting Symposium
📅 18-22 Apr | NAB, Las Vegas, USA
📅 22-25 Apr | CCBN, China
📅 5-6 May | DRM General Assembly, Indonesia
