From today Canberra and Darwin will have access to SBS and ABC DAB+ services.

 In addition to ABC and SBS’s national radio programs, listeners can also tune in to the digital-only stations including Double J, ABC Jazz, ABC Country, ABC Extra, ABC Grandstand Unearthed, SBS PopAsia, SBS PopDesi and SBS Chill.
 
In the Canberra market, certain ABC and SBS services are currently provided on a trial basis and audiences will need to retune their DAB+ receivers on 8 January 2018 to access the available  range of ABC and SBS Radio services.
 
Director of ABC Radio, Michael Mason said: “It’s wonderful to see audiences in Darwin and Canberra being able to now access the ABC’s great range of digital stations – from jazz to sport to special events –  that are enjoyed by so many of our listeners in other capital cities. 

‘And with the summer sporting season upon us, fans will be able to listen to sports coverage 24 hours a day on ABC Grandstand – including of course full coverage of the Ashes.”
 
SBS (Acting) Director of Audio and Language Content, Pip Spilsbury said, “We are thrilled to be launching permanent digital services in Darwin and Canberra and extending SBS’s reach to more audiences.

‘During the trial phase, listeners could previously tune in to limited services provided by SBS Radio.

‘With the permanent installation and higher power transmissions, our audiences can now enjoy the complete range provided by SBS Radio services including – SBS Radio 1, SBS Radio 2, SBS Arabic24, and music stations – SBS Chill, SBS PopDesi and SBS PopAsia.”
 
The benefits of DAB+ services include:
 
–          Tuning by station name
–          Pause, rewind and record options
–          Exceptional sound quality compared to AM/FM analogue services
–          Additional text information on songs and artists as well as news and weather updates
 
There are more than 230 DAB+ digital receivers available in the market in all shapes and sizes with an array of functions. Some receivers are DAB+ only and some have FM services included.