We build and operate small-scale DAB multiplexes across the Midlands, Derbyshire and Shropshire, on transmission sites we own ourselves. Stations carried on a Maxxwave multiplex get our own premium broadcast encoder as standard, at no extra cost, and a published rate card that every service on that multiplex pays. The same rate applies whether you are a commercial station or a community station, and we do not do side deals.
Our Midlands multiplexes form a continuous chain. A station carried on more than one of them is encoded once and delivered to all of them from a single synchronised source, with roaming configured between them, so a listener driving from Loughborough to Banbury hears no break, no jump in level and no change in character as one coverage area hands over to the next. Very few operators anywhere can offer that, and it is the reason to think about our multiplexes as a region rather than as a list of towns.
| Multiplex | Status | Coverage | Capacity | Rates | Services |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loughborough | On air | Map | High demand - limited capacity | Rate card | View |
| High Peak | On air | Map | Available | Rate card | View |
| Rugby and Daventry | On air | Map | High demand - limited capacity | Rate card | View |
| Shropshire | On air | Map | High demand - limited capacity | Rate card | View |
| Banbury and Brackley | Launching 2026 | - | Accepting enquiries | - | - |
| Hinckley and Nuneaton | Launching 2026 | - | Accepting enquiries | - | - |
| Burton and Lichfield | Awaiting Ofcom clearance | - | Register interest | - | - |
| Leamington and Stratford | Awaiting Ofcom clearance | - | Register interest | - | - |
| Lincoln and Newark | Application submitted | - | Register interest | - | - |
Carriage starts at £62.50 per month, and every rate card above is published in full.
Not sure what bitrate you need? We publish straight guidance on what each bitrate actually sounds like, and what we would recommend for a primary area, a secondary area or a trial. Choosing a bitrate
Planning your own transmitter site? CoverageMapper is our free online tool for predicting FM and DAB coverage anywhere in Great Britain. Drop a pin, enter the antenna height and power, and compare candidate sites in under a minute each. Try CoverageMapper
Several of our multiplexes are close to full. Where we cannot offer capacity immediately we keep a register of requests, and we come back to everyone on it when capacity becomes available or when a multiplex is reconfigured.
In working through the register we take account of the order in which requests were received and of the range of services already carried in that area. A multiplex serves its listeners best when it offers genuine choice rather than several versions of the same thing, so a service that brings something new to an area will usually be considered ahead of one that duplicates what is already there.
If you are interested in an area shown as full, it is worth registering. Capacity moves more often than people expect, and stations already on the register are contacted first.
DabMan
platform
All of our multiplexes are managed on DabMan, our free web-based platform for small-scale DAB operators. It handles multiplex configuration, self-configuring encoder tunnels, live monitoring, Ofcom licence lookups and regulatory reporting, without needing Linux expertise or specialist software.
We built it because nothing available met the standards we had developed over twenty years running mission-critical national radio networks for emergency services. It is free to use, and it is what keeps our multiplexes synchronised with each other.
Maxxwave
Encoding
Every service on a Maxxwave multiplex is encoded with our own broadcast encoder, at no extra charge.
The encoder that almost every small-scale multiplex uses was originally written for mobile phones. Ours was written for broadcasting. The practical effect is that your station sounds considerably better at the bitrate you are already paying for, and that station text and slideshow images no longer take a fixed slice out of your audio in every frame.
The same encode feeds every Maxxwave multiplex that carries you, from one clock and one source, which is what makes seamless roaming across our chain possible.
Where your service is also carried on another operator's multiplex, we will feed that too over standard EDI-TCP, so your sound stays consistent wherever your listeners hear you.
Getting on air
- Send us an enquiry using the form below, telling us which area or areas you are interested in and roughly what the service is.
- We will confirm whether capacity is available, and what it will cost.
- You will need the appropriate Ofcom licence for the service, either a DSP or a C-DSP licence.
- We agree a start date and issue the carriage terms.
- You send us an audio feed. We handle the encoder, the slideshow and the delivery to the multiplex.
We do not charge build and acquisition fees, and we do not take months to get a station on air. Where a station is licensed and ready to go, we have taken services from first enquiry to on air the same day.
All services carried are subject to our standard terms and conditions, which you can read here.
DAB carriage enquiry
All DAB enquiries are handled by email. Please use the form below and we will come back to you.