Population:	7.5 million
Coverage:	90%
Services:	35 DAB, 13 DAB+
Sales (accumulated):	120,000 devices
Penetration by population:	4%

Last update: 14-10-2008

Swiss DAB coverage reached around 90% of the population in June 2008. 

The latest survey conducted by the Swiss research company Mediapulse in mid-2008 indicated that a total of about 120,000 receivers had been sold.

There are currently 35 DAB services and 13 DAB+ services on air (incorporating 19 different brands on four multiplexes).  A new DAB-only channel, DRS 4 News, has made good progress since its launch in November 2007 and now reaches over 300,000 listeners. The latest multiplex was launched by the Swiss public broadcaster SRG SSR idée suisse on October 13th in Grisons (Eastern Switzerland) with 13 DAB+ and 2 DAB services.

The first commercial DAB+ multiplex is expected to launch in mid-2009 and the network operators have recently opened calls for tender for spaces on these multiplexes.

By June 2008 DAB coverage in Switzerland had reached about 90% of the population.  The Swiss public broadcaster, SRG SSR idee suisse, has now started filling the last white spots on the DAB coverage map, most of which are in remote or sparsely populated areas.  The most recent region to receive DAB reception is the Grisons in the East of Switzerland.

Full DAB coverage (apart from some major tunnels) should be achieved by the end of 2008.

In this country there are

• Regional multiplexes: 4 Regular

There are 19 different brands on air, all of them by the public broadcaster SRG SSR idee suisse (one in cooperation with the BBC).

• 12 programmes on DAB in the German-speaking part of Switzerland (6 DAB only, 1 AM simulcast and 5 FM simulcast)
• 11 programmes on DAB in the French-speaking part of Switzerland (5 DAB only, 1 AM simulcast and 5 FM simulcast)
• 10 programmes on DAB in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland (7 DAB only, 3 FM simulcast)
• 13 programmes on DAB+ and 2 on DAB in the Romansh-speaking part of Switzerland

Commercial radio and media companies are expected to launch their first DAB+ multiplex in the German-speaking part of Switzerland in 2009. The Swiss Authorities granted them eight licences for new, DAB-only commercial radio channels on 6th July 2007. A further eight applicants did not receive a licence but may broadcast their channels licence-free, provided they can rent a space on the multiplex from the network providers.

There are about a thousand retailers selling DAB receivers in  Switzerland, and there is a choice of about 250 different receivers in the market. A survey conducted by the Swiss research company Mediapulse suggests that a total of 120,000 receivers had been sold by mid-2008.

DAB+ local trials took place in Berne and Zurich in November and December 2007.

A DMB trial has also been on-air through the MIFRIENDS project.

The SRG licence includes the operation of a DAB multiplex and transmission network in Band III. The transmitter sites are operated by Swisscom Broadcast, but SRG is responsible for the planning of the network, signal generating and multiplexing.

Commercial radio and media companies in Switzerland were granted 8 licences in summer 2007.

SwissMediaCast AG was granted a licence to broadcast on Channel 7D by Swiss Ofcom (the regulator).  SMC AG will run the first commercial DAB+ multiplex in German-speaking Switzerland and expects to launch in 2008.  SMC AG opened a call for tender in May 2008 for eight spaces on its DAB+ multiplex.

The Swiss Ofcom has also opened a call for tender for eight commercial programme licences in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.