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In July, Ofcom announced that it had awarded the new Digital Audio Broadcasting national radio multiplex licence to 4 Digital Group -- a consortium of diverse and complementary business interests, led by Channel 4.

The multiplex licence will allow the broadcast of a number of radio services as well as the delivery of other multimedia services such as text and data services -- likely to be up and running by July next year.

Radio is an incredibly powerful medium compared with television for two simple facts, it can be consumed on the move, for example in the car without any distortion to the content being broadcast and it's an excellent personal medium. You can't really say that about TV in the same way.

I have to declare a small interest here -- I was a reporter/producer for BBC Network radio and World Service nearly 20 years ago -- and I'm still a radio junkie. But even if you're not, you can't escape the significance of this from a broadcast sponsorship perspective.

To begin with, the award of this licence has created a new and powerful national radio service ready for brand owners to benefit from which wasn't open to them with the BBC Network that's publicly funded.

The new national service aims to attract a broad-based listening audience, reflected by its news and entertainment offerings.

News and entertainment services to be provided:

There's obviously some big names in here such as Sky, Disney, and Virgin, which should help the new service reach millions of consumers in the UK.

And there's serious money and commitment behind the new venture to ensure that it isn't a flop.

For example, the consortium is committed to launching eight national digital sound programme services and at least nine podcast providers within the next 12 months.

This will be delivered via a network of 174 transmitters which will reach about 90% of the UK adult population aged 15 years and over. And the consortium has also committed itself to launching a further two national digital sound programme services within the next 11 months -- ensuring that the BBC gets a run for its money.

With the talk of a "switch off" from analogue broadcast services having started already, this new consortium has committed £4.5m to promoting the benefits of DAB in the first three years' of its 12-year licence, plus £25m to support the launch of each new individual radio service.

Perhaps what's really interesting for readers is the fact that the Carphone Warehouse has taken a 10% stake in the new venture. This is the clearest and most recent sign that brand owners are becoming involved in brandcasting.

It's a fact that the Carphone Warehouse Group embraced radio from the start and according to Stephen Donovan of Radioville, the company was one of the first to "build its brand on radio". So in many respects it's not that shocking that the Carphone Warehouse has taken such an active involvement in the UK's first national multiplex licence.

It's likely that next generation of mobile phones and devices sold through its network of high-street stores will be pre-loaded with all sorts of exclusive goodies and content that it's rivals can't match or incorporate into their promotions in a highly-priced competitive market.

A spokesperson for the Carphone Warehouse said: "The new deal enhances our broadcast sponsorship activities absolutely.

"It also reflects the fact that lots of phones and indeed MP3 players either already have an FM radio capability right now or will start to have DAB functionality as standard in the future -- making radio an integral part of the way customers use their mobiles just as they use music, photography and GPS services at present."

Clearly the Carphone Warehouse has bought itself a head start before its competitors and other brand owners eventually go "Radio Ga Ga".

Ardi Kolah is a brand marketing and sponsorship consultant. He can be reached at +44 (0)207 323 1587, +44 (0)77100 77941 and ardi@kolah.com