If you do not yet have the latest version of the RDS standard IEC 62106 (2018 - 2023), study the RDS specification section. It includes information about Part 2 for the RDS2 File Transfer protocol RFT, Part 9 (RBDS), and Part 10 (UECP), which were published in 2021. The latest change made in 2023 concerns Part 6, ODAs in the public domain. There are three new ODAs for RDS2: Station logo, Slideshow, and IP Linking. There is also a new protocol to distribute RDS data over other bearers, such as IP.
The RDS Forum 2012 submitted to the IEC standardisation process a revised specification on receiver product measurements to check the minimum RDS performance requirements for three categories of receivers: portable receivers, car radios, and home receivers. The standard was approved in July 2013 as IEC 62634/Ed.2. For more information, see Receiver measurements.
UECP stands for Universal Encoder Communication Protocol. This is fundamental if you want to use an RDS encoder. The specification originated in the EBU, but the RDS Forum has updated it several times since then. For more information, see UECP.
On the RDS logo, if used outside the USA, there existed unjustified license claims, although the logo is part of the RDS IEC standard. The logo originated within the BBC and they gave it to the EBU. It was first published in RDS Newsletter no. 7/1988, issued by the EBU, and then the EBU submitted it for standardisation. In 2005, there was a special meeting of the RDS Forum at the BBC involving legal experts. For more details, see RDS logo legal issues.
The RDS Implementation Guidelines are for broadcasters, transmission operators, RDS equipment manufacturers, and receiver manufacturers to provide RDS implementation advice. For more details, see RDS Guidelines.
In History of Broadcasting Traffic Info you can download an article that describes developments in this domain since the seventies.
In June 2024, the public Swiss broadcaster SRG/SSR announced it would cease operations on FM from the end of 2024, and this happened on 1 January 2025. The result was a loss of several hundred thousand listeners on the three main programmes, in all three language regions of the public broadcaster. Commercial radio gained listeners everywhere in Switzerland for the moment. However, it can continue on FM only until the end of 2026, as regulated by the state authorities. For more details, see Swiss FM switch-off, where the reasons for the FM switch-off in Switzerland are explained.
For using FM radio and RDS for disaster warnings, the entire infrastructure is already there on both sides: transmitter and receiver. Most of all, it is very simple to operate. For more details, see Disaster Warnings.
The World Radio and TV Handbook (WRTH) 2025 was published by RDS Forum member Radio Data Center in Germany. The handbook is recommended in case you need details on radio stations in use. For more details, see WRTH.
eBook on RDS
New version - 04/2025. This eBook was updated in April 2025. It was compiled from contributions of a team of RDS Forum members who have been closely involved in RDS development for over three decades.
Readers will learn about the possibilities, seen from within the RDS Forum, of the very best possible way to use this well proven and frequently updated FM radio technology. In doing so, it takes into account the new possibilities offered by RDS2 and explains how to use these new options for designing open data applications.
This book gives a general description of the RDS system and all RDS features, explains the UECP and how to monitor and generate RDS signals on air, covers the use of RDS in the automotive world and the principles of RDS-TMC, and describes the possibilities for using the optional extension of RDS2. This book is a must read for everyone interested in the subject. It contains all topics so far studied by the RDS Forum.
ISBN 978-2-940536-23-8. Now available worldwide for a modest fee (USD 9.99) on the Amazon Kindle store.
