The whole timing of the DAB system relies on this number.
It stands for the clock frequency of 2048 kHz, from where all other timing is derived.
The heart of DAB, the COFDM modulation, is based on 2048 samples @ a sample rate of 2048 kHz, resulting in a symbol length of 1 ms.
1 ms is related to the distance of 1 kHz of all the carriers. It is the condition to obtain orthogonal carriers which will not have any carrier interference between each other.
The symbol of 1 ms corresponds to 2048 times the clock period of 2048 kHz.
1/2048 kHz * 2048 = 1 ms
The number 2048 is the number on which DAB is built and will pop up in many technical articles about DAB.
The clock period indicated by the letter T equals 1/2048 kHz or 0,48828125 µs.
It is essential to understand the above to understand DAB’s working principles.