A new audio codec has been announced by the WorldDMB Forum, formerly the WorldDAB Forum. This enables more stations to be carried on a DAB digital radio multiplex, thanks to the new highly efficient aacPlus codec.

The new codec is based on MP4 compression; currently DAB digital radio stations are broadcast in the UK using technology based on MPEG Audio Layer II (MP2) technology. New receivers are expected to hit the shelves in 2007 and will be backward compatible with the existing MP2 standard.

Although it is anticipated UK broadcasters and multiplex owners will continue to use the MP2 standard for the foreseeable future, new receivers will be able to decode both the existing MP2 and the new aacPlus standards.

WorldDMB’s president Quentin Howard commented: "The right solution for several of the most advanced DAB markets will continue to be MPEG Audio Layer II. That is something that the regulators and broadcasters in those countries know and understand well and they will behave responsibly and in the best interests of their consumers. But in other countries, the announcement that WorldDMB is submitting this [the new AAC] standard to ETSI will be seen as a green light for the exciting consumer benefits of DAB digital radio."