 In the United Kingdom , the uptake of DAB has increased since the launch of the BBC national DAB ensemble in 1995 . Lower prices , new radio stations and marketing have increased the uptake of DAB radio in the UK . Digital radios were first sold as car radios in 1997 , priced around £ 800 , with hi @-@ fi tuners costing up to £ 2 @,@ 000 being released two years later . In 2001 , Digital One invested in Frontier Silicon to produce a new processing chip which would allow cheaper portable radios to be produced . Roberts Radio , Goodmans and in 2002 , Pure Digital 's award winning Evoke series of radios broke the £ 100 price barrier , and DAB take up has increased since . As the result of the increase of uptake of DAB , electrical retailer Dixons announced in 2006 that it would discontinue selling analogue radios , though Dixons still continues to stock and sell analogue radios , and has given no indication of a timetable , as of August 2011 . 
