A press release from the BBC says a new DAB transmission facility will soon provide improved reception across a region adjacent to and southeast of London.

BBC engineers expect the new Wrothram site, located roughly 25 miles southeast of London's center, to expand DAB coverage to include an additional 133,000 persons and improve reception for as many 7.6 million living in and around London.

The announcement comes on the heels of a refusal to air DAB holiday promotions by several commercial broadcast groups unhappy with progress on improving the national DAB transmission network. Those groups claim that the BBC hasn't honored previous commitments to build out DAB's transmission infrastructure to a point where coverage meets or exceeds that of analog FM -- something commercial radio operators say they need in order to survive during a planned national transition to DAB.

Perhaps seeking to soothe commercial broadcaster's discontent, the publicly funded corporation noted that it is now "investing in the DAB network and fulfilling its commitment to reach around 92 percent of the UK population by the end of next year."