Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format.
The DAB standard was initiated as an European research project in the 1980s, and BBC launched the first DAB digital radio in 1995. DAB receivers have been available in many countries since the end of the nineties. DAB may offer more radio programmes over a specific spectrum than analogue FM radio. DAB is more robust with regards to noise and multipath fading for mobile listening, but DAB reception quality degrades rapidly when the signal strength isn't strong, whereas FM reception quality degrades slowly.
