If you do not yet have the latest version of the RDS standard IEC 62106 (2018 - 2023), then please study the section called RDS specification. It contains Part 2 for the RDS2 File Transfer protocol RFT being added and Part 9 (RBDS), as well as Part 10 (UECP), being 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 ones, car radio 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 refer to the section 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 published first in the 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 refer to the section RDS logo - legal issues.
The RDS Implementation Guidelines are for broadcasters, transmission operators and RDS equipment and receiver manufacturers to provide RDS implementation advice. For more details refer to the section RDS Guidelines.
In the section Broadcasting Traffic Info you can download an article that describes the 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 so it happened on 1 January 2025. The result was a loss of over half a million listeners on the three main programmes, in all three language regions. Commercial radio gained a lot more listeners everywhere in Switzerland. It can now continue on FM at least until the end of 2031. In mid-November 2026 the SRG/SSR switches FM on again for its three main programmes in each language region to attempt regaining the listeners so far lost, but in this first attempt the coverage will only be 80% of the population, while in 2024 it was almost 100%. For more details refer to the section Swiss FM Switch-off updated.
For using FM radio and RDS for disaster warnings, the entire infrastructure is already there on both sides: transmitter and receiver, and most of all it is very simple to operate. For more details please refer to the section Disaster Warnings.
The World Radio and TV Handbook (WRTH) 2026 has been 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 information refer to the section WRTH.
In July 2026 the US Radio World magazine interviewed RDS Forum CEO Dietmar Kopitz on the future of Global Radio. For more details refer to the section Global Radio Update.
This section was last updated on 13 November 2026.
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