December 21, 2020 is the deadline and with the decision of the Federal Council, EU law will be enforced, after which all new cars will be required to use digital radio. With the introduction of "Digital Audio Broadcast" or just DAB + for all new cars, the Federal Council is putting into practice what was passed as new EU law at the beginning of November 2019.
The same signal for everyone
The EU decision obliges the car manufacturers of all member states that all radios in new cars must be equipped with digital radio reception from December 21, 2020. With the introduction of this uniform standard, the EU wants to ensure that all motorists across Europe have access to DAB +. The commitment to digital radio is also intended to ensure that modern streaming services do not overtake conventional broadcasting. Compared to classic VHF reception, DAB + is characterized by better supra-regional reception quality and significantly more stations. The pleasure of listening to the radio is being redefined.
Many already have DAB +
New cars coming onto the market in the coming weeks and months already have DAB +. However, the manufacturers charge a surcharge, which is often in the three-digit range. However, many new cars already have a DAB + chip. The old-fashioned analog car radio was threatened with extinction at the beginning of 2018 because the antenna operators and the broadcasters could not agree. Around ten million radio listeners would have been affected by this "blackout". Today it can be assumed that the analog car radio and the analog radio will disappear completely sooner rather than later. Those who are now buying a new car should no longer be interested, because they already have DAB +.
The compulsion disturbs
Many drivers would have nothing against better digital reception in their car, but many are bothered by the compulsion behind it. The lonely decisions of the EU are not so well received, especially since there is no alternative. Here it says: Either digitally or not at all.
