BBC will pay for rollout of DAB radio to 97% of UK population
The BBC will pay for the rollout of digital audio broadcasting (DAB) radio to 97% of the population according to its director of audio and music.
Tim Davie, director of audio and music for the BBC said the corporation would fund the expansion of its national DAB platform – coverage currently stands at just over 90% – "despite the tough financial environment".
He said that every town with a population of more than 5000 people would have indoor DAB coverage, but admitted that "small pockets of poor coverage in some of these areas" would remain.
Davie said the priority was "solid coverage" in the UK's top 25 cities, with boosts to the signal in areas including Glasgow.
Vaizey has said the UK "leads the world" in digital radio with more than 14m sets sold and the medium accounting for more than a quarter of all radio listening.
However, culture minister Ed Vaizey has pointed out that a "huge amount of work" remains to be done to get to switchover.