The EBU has congratulated Norway, and member broadcaster NRK, on becoming the first country in the world to set a concrete date for the analogue switch-off of all its major radio stations.

Norway's Ministry of Culture says the national FM switch-off, which will complete the transition to digital radio, will begin on 11 January 2017 in the north of the country and be implemented region-by-region. The process will start in the Nordland region and end in Troms and Finnmark on 13 December of the same year.

EBU Head of Radio Christian Vogg says Norway is making an historic move into a new radio era: "Digital terrestrial radio is the future of our medium. With DAB+, the audience is the winner because listeners will be provided with more radio channels carrying a wider range of more diverse and rich content at competitive low costs."

NRK will lead the switch-off in four of the six regions concerned, while it will be done simultaneously with other industry players in the remaining two. Thor Gjermund Eriksen, the head of NRK, says this is an important day for everyone who loves radio: "The minister's decision allows us to concentrate our resources even more upon what is most important, namely to create high quality and diverse radio content for our listeners."

By setting a date after having met the well-chosen and demanding criteria for the switch-over, Norway is leading the world in choosing DAB-technology as the backbone of future radio distribution. Ole Jørgen Torvmark, CEO of Digital Radio Norway, says a positive legislative framework and a collaborative radio industry mean Norway is far ahead in the transition to digital radio: "Many countries are now looking to Norway to learn."

The DAB coverage in Norway now exceeds the FM coverage. DAB provides Norway with 22 national channels, compared to five channels transmitting nationwide on FM.