Nov 3, 2006 - World DMB has released further details of its plans to create a choice of audio coding for digital audio broadcasting (DAB). The international organization, which promotes Eureka 147-based digital broadcasting, has submitted a draft technical specification called DAB Audio Broadcasting (DAB); Transport of AAC Audio to the international standard body ETSI. Following submission to ETSI, it is expected compatible receivers can be designed and broadcast services can be introduced as early as 2007.

A marketing task force has been set up to develop a consumer-friendly name for the effort. The result of this group's work will be announced early in 2007.

Eureka 147 currently uses MPEG Layer II to encode the audio in a stream. By adding ACC as a possible algorithm more stations can be broadcast on a multiplex, which will provide a more efficient use of the radio spectrum. It is expected that the change will also lower transmission costs for digital stations. New receivers with ACC will be backward compatible with the existing codec standard. Current MPEG Layer II services and consumers will be unaffected by the change.

The proposal being submitted to ETSI allows for the parallel use of both audio coding options and ensures that existing listeners and DAB digital radios will not be disrupted. Receivers that include the new codec will also decode all standard MPEG Audio Layer II audio services.