This particular chipset is made by Silicon Labs in the United States.
DAB radios have been more expensive than FM radios, butthe gap is about to narrow. One reason has been the much lower production volume, another reason is the patent license fee on DAB chipsets, commonly referred to as the Philip patent. That patent expires March 18, something that eliminates the fee of €1.50-2.50 (volume dependent) and should make digital radios €3-5 Euros cheaper.
The DAB patent has already expired in some countries, but it is now eliminated world-wide. That is good news to both manufacturers and consumers. It should also lead to an uptake in production of DMB/DAB+ capable devices from companies that may not have produced such receivers before. It also lowers the barrier to introduce more mobile phone and tablets with built-in DMB/DAB+.
A few Euros may not sound like a lot, but it quickly adds up if your volume is hundreds of thousands or even millions of devices.
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