DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-100, June 6, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3f.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1185: RFPI: Sat 0130, 0800, 1400, 1730, 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 7445 15039 WWCR: Sat 0600, Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 WJIE: Sat 0930, Sun 1030, 1630 7490 13595 [maybe] WINB: Sat 1730 13570 WBCQ: Mon 0445 7415 WRN: Rest of world Sat 0800, Europe Sun 0430, North America Sun 1400 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1185.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1185.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1185h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1185h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1185.html ** AUSTRALIA. In light of recent reports of Voice International lacking any religious content I forced myself to listen for a few minutes when I ran across Cox Peninsula, 13685 at 1315 UT June 6. Yes, they kept mentioning God and missionary work, hymn after 1320, so at this moment at least, it was not so stealthy despite elimination of the very word ``Christian`` from their name. I wonder how many listeners have initially been duped into listening when they hear the Oz accent and assume it be R. Australia (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. CHINA'S CONTROL OF NEWS AND INFORMATION MAY HAVE WORSENED SARS EPIDEMIC, BROADCASTERS SAY Washington, D.C. June 5, 2003 - China's control of news and information prevented people from receiving information about SARS and may have worsened the epidemic, U.S. international broadcasters told a federal commission today. "To this day, China's statistics remain dubious and not credible," Jay Henderson, director of the Voice of America's (www.voanews.com) East Asia and Pacific Division, told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on Capitol Hill. "But, as the SARS disaster reveals, Beijing believes total control of ideas is still vital to national security." Noting that VOA and RFA aired Mandarin reports on SARS in February, two months before China acknowledged a problem, Henderson said: "One cannot help but wonder if the scale of the SARS crisis might have been held down if the Chinese had not been jamming our broadcasts and blocking our web pages." . . . http://www.bbg.gov/_bbg_news.cfm?articleID=74&mode=general SARS IN CHINA: IMPLICATIONS FOR MEDIA CONTROL AND THE ECONOMY TESTIMONY OF DAN SOUTHERLAND, VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMMING AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR, RADIO FREE ASIA --- Presented to the U.S.- China Economic and Security Review Commission on June 5, 2003: http://www.bbg.gov/_bbg_news.cfm?articleID=77&mode=general (BBG press releases via DXLD) ** CUBA. Selon un message de Radio Havane Cuba reçu par Gilles Garnier, la station informe n'émettre plus qu'épisodiquement vers l'Europe. Le motif serait la remise en état de l'émetteur (Gilles Garnier - 03 juin 2003 --- les informations sont issues de http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jm.aubier via DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. RADIO FREE EUROPE HEAD SAYS PRAGUE BRANCH WILL BE RELOCATED WITHIN PRAGUE | Excerpt from report in English by Czech news agency CTK Prague, 6 June: The Prague branch of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) will not stay in the building of the former Federal Assembly near Wenceslas Square, but will be relocated to a different place in Prague, its president Thomas Dine told CTK today. The contract for the lease of the complex expires next year and it is not yet quite clear whether it will be extended. Dine told CTK that RFE/RL was conducting talks with property owners in Prague. He said that the search only concerned Prague. When asked whether the option that the offices would stay in their current place was still valid, he said that this was no longer foreseen because everyone had agreed that it was time to leave. [passage omitted] There is still the question of who will pay for the costs of the relocation. [Czech Foreign Minister Cyril] Svoboda indicated earlier that the Czech Republic would not do so. [passage omitted] Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 1103 gmt 6 Jun 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** FINLAND. SCANDINAVIAN WEEKEND RADIO JUNE 6-7: Next transmission starting 21 hours UT this Friday evening. Our frequency schedule is here: Summer schedule: UT 48mb 25mb 21 5990 11720 22 5980 05 6170 11690 10 11720 14 5980 16 6170 19 5990 11690 Changes in frequencies might happen without beforehand notice! Check http://www.swradio.net (Alpo Heinonen, Scandinavian Weekend Radio, June 6, dxing.info via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. En esta oportunidad les informo que estoy escuchando Radio Cultural, como no la había escuchado antes, señal fuerte y clara. La he sintonizado en dos frecuencias, en los 2400 kHz y en los 3300 kHz. Mejor en los 3300 kHz. Fue captada a la 0148 UT en las dos frecuencias, ya que las pude monitorear rápidamente para verificar si era la misma señal. Estoy utilizando un radioreceptor Siemens y un amplificador de antena para onda corta de Radio Shack, conectado a mi antena hilo largo de 27 metros. Atte: (José Elías, Venezuela, Cumbre DX et al. via DXLD) Another DXer who needs to be made aware of 2 x IF receiver images (gh, DXLD) ** INDIA. GOVERNMENT MULLS OPENING UP FM RADIO TO NEWS, CURRENT AFFAIRS | Text of report by Indian broadcast industry web site Indiantelevision.com on 6 June New Delhi: The Indian government may open up FM radio sector to news and current affairs programming as also the content being provided by a foreign broadcaster, which would mean restructuring the policy guideline regarding FM radio, private participation and foreign holding in such ventures that is not allowed at the moment. This may happen as Auntie Beeb or BBC World Service (the radio service of the British Broadcasting Corporation) wants to hop onto the FM bandwagon in India and has opened up talks with the Indian government in this regard. Admitting that BBC is keen to use the FM radio vehicle and has evinced interest, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told indiantelevision.com today: "Personally, I am not against news and current affairs on FM radio, but the issue of a foreign broadcaster doing so has to be looked into in detail before any stand on this can be taken by the government." Prasad also hinted that BBC is keen to forge a tie-up in this regard with India's pubcaster Prasar Bharati [Indian Broadcasting Corporation] and use the vast network of the All India Radio [AIR] for FM broadcasts. Recently, while in London, Prasad visited the BBC's headquarters and spent almost a day there soaking in the functioning of BBC. He also visited Rupert Murdoch-promoted BSkyB's DTH [direct-to-home] facility in the UK. But, if the government allows BBC radio to hook up with AIR and provide news and current affairs content to the AIR's FM channels, it also cannot keep such programming out of the private FM radio stations who have been crying themselves hoarse that they should also be allowed to air news and related programmes to woo a wider spread of listeners. Moreover, if BBC World Service is allowed to hop onto the FM bandwagon, the government also cannot bar foreign investment, irrespective of the quantum, in private FM radio stations. At present, foreign investment in private FM radio ventures is disallowed, except FII shareholding as per the Reserve Bank of India guidelines, which is taken as portfolio investment. Source: Indiantelevision.com web site, Mumbai, in English 6 Jun 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) What a wacky idea in the first place that news & current affairs should be banned from FM! The inscrutable Indian (gh, DXLD) ** ITALY [non?]. IRRS-Shortwave: new programs and latest schedule Hello There from Milano, Italy, Last week we heard other rumours of more Shortwave stations preparing to shut down transmissions as well as their entire broadcasting facilities before year's end. We regret the loss of jobs among our friends and colleagues, and much more the loss of International news and information through a convenient, small, portable Shortwave receiver. Such decisions seems again to be dictated by incompetent politicians or consultants in an attempt to save money, regardless of the effectiveness and importance of the Shortwave media. Cynically, NEXUS-IBA seems to be left alone in Italy to continue providing a good signal and varied, interesting programs on Shortwave. If you are interested in our view of this issue, please check the front page article at http://www.undpi.org entitled: "Shortwave radio still viable and effective in the 21st century" Back to programming on IRRS-Shortwave: we are announcing two new programs via our 10 kW outlet to Europe, and we celebrate 10 years of broadcasting on behalf of Radio Santec: - This week we welcome Radio Abeokuta as a new member of NEXUS-IBA. Radio Abeokuta will start their first broadcast on Friday, June 6, 2003, at 2000-2030 UT (2200-2230 CEST) on 5,780 kHz via IRRS- Shortwave, aiming at reaching the large community of Nigerians living in Europe. They will air plenty of African music - seldom heard on our airwaves - and information for all concerned. Radio Abeokuta will be heard each Friday via IRRS-Shortwave at 2000-2030 UT on 5,780 kHz, with a repeat on the following Wednesday at the same time and on the same frequency. For more information please visit http://www.abeokuta.org - Next week-end June 14-15, 2003, as every second weekend in the month, you can listen to Radio Rasant, the students' radio at the "Realschule" in Sundern, Germany. Students with the help of their teacher Reinhard Marx went all the way from interviewing, production, editing and broadcasting locally and internationally a series of radio programs with a wealth of information on current topics and music, especially interesting to the youngest generations. From Dec. 3, 2002 to April 4, 2003 the students at Radio Rasant took part to the workshop "Girls in the media professions". Throughout their participation they produced three radio programs. Next week program is in German, but it's easy to listen to even if you do not understand German, with lots of music, and IDs in various languages. Radio Rasant will be on the air Saturday June 14, 2003 via IRRS- Shortwave: from 0830-0930 UT (1030-1130 CEST) on 13,840 kHz from 1930-2030 UT (2130-2230 CEST) on 5,780 kHz repeated at the same time and on the same frequencies on Sunday June 15, 2003. More information on Radio Rasant at http://www.radiorasant.org email: info@radiorasant.org or write to their address mentioned on the air. - These weeks we celebrate ten years with Radio Santec, a NEXUS-IBA member since 1993. Radio Santec produces radio, music and TV programs in various languages from Wuerzburg, Germany. Radio Santec approached us in 1993 to report on their situation, where members of their community were assaulted and accused locally of breaking the local tradition with a more radical approach to life and religion. According to the NEXUS-IBA's charter and our "free access", non discriminatory policy, we gladly allowed the world to hear "what they have to say" - without any filter. Samples of interviews that we carried back in 1993 are available on line at http://www.nexus.org/IRN Radio Santec can be heard via IRRS-Shortwave every Sat & Sun at 0930 UT (1130 CEST) on 13,840 kHz. More information on Radio Santec at: http://www.radio-santec.com Lastly, we would like to remind you our current broadcast schedule on Shortwave: daily 1900-2030 UT (2100-2230 CEST) on 5,780 kHz, and : Sat & Sun only 0800-1200 UT (1000-1400 CEST) on 13,840 kHz. Our broadcasts are beamed to Europe, but - propagation permitting - reception may also be possible outside our target area. All programs are in parallel 24/24, 7/7 at http://mp3.nexus.org We welcome your reception reports at reports@nexus.org and especially your comments to our programs, that are very useful to all our program producers. Please feel free to forward this information to anyone interested, and let's keep the Shortwave radio flag high on our mast! Take care and best 73s, de (Ron Norton, IBA, June 6, IRRS-listeners mailing list: http://nx1-2.nexus.org/mailman/listinfo/irrs-listeners via Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** KASHMIR. RADIO KASHMIR CALLS THE SHOTS, BUT IT`S STILL A FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL ------------------------------------------------------------ MASOOD HUSSAIN, TIMES NEWS NETWORK, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2003 05:12:54 AM SRINAGAR: Hardselling its reputation of being the most powerful of all the mass media across strife-ridden J&K, the Radio Kashmir Srinagar (RKS) is fighting a battle to get its due share from the surging market. While the primary channel continues to show a gradual improvement in its revenue collection in the last two years, it is not the same in the Vividh Bharati, the Commercial Broadcasting Service (CBS). Says Rafiq Masoodi, director RKS, ``The main factor is that the CBS is no more available on the Medium Wave after we switched over to FM in December `00. People here do not have FM receivers but we are picking up.`` Adds another executive, ``Our revenue pattern does reflect the situation. Militancy waxes and wanes so do the preferences of our clients. I can count instances in which some clients after signing the agreements backtracked as they were targeted for extortion.`` Even the Jammu-based CBS is witnessing a decrease in the revenues. Against a total of Rs 7.14 lakh that it collected in `01-02, the figure nose-dived to Rs 1.4 lakh. There, however, the factors seem to be different. Many of CBS clients in Jammu have switched over to cable TV as some city cables have offered a better viewership. ``Officially it is just a year old station,`` added another officer. RKS, seniors in the radio said, has remained quite a famous institution for current affairs and the drama sections. ``Over the years while the regional news unit had to remain out for many years, no new dramas were recorded. Till recently we were replaying the earlier recorded programmes for around 10 hours a day. Even though the new programmes were recorded, the artists remained unpaid. At one point of time some needy artists who survive on one booking, once in three weeks, threatened to set themselves afire. Admits Mr Masoodi, ``It might be incredible that RKS had a liability of Rs 1.85 crore from January `99 and we released it in almost one month with the help of our CEO.`` These included over 3,500 artists. Despite being part of the Prasar Bharati Broadcasting Corporation run AIR, RKS retains its special nomenclature. All the AIR run stations across J&K are prefixed by Radio Kashmir instead of All India Radio. Expenditure on developing a new software is quite low. In the fiscal `02-03, total expenditure of RKS was Rs 10.05 crore. Rs 3.58 crore was the wage bill and almost the remaining amount was spent on maintaining the huge hardware. Only a sum of Rs 97.8 lakh was spent on professional services. Expenditure on professional services was Rs 67.05 lakh of a total expenditure of Rs 9.45 crore in `01-02 against Rs 71.92 lakh on new programmes of the total expenditure of Rs 8.78 crore in `00-01. Knowing that they have no immediate competitors other than in current affairs, Masoodi says, ``Unless we do not make good programmes, why should people listen to us.`` For any good programme, he says, sponsors really fight with each other. An evening current affairs programme - Sheharbeen, is quite a hit. ``We have already started recording new dramas and songs and I hope it will generate better income.`` Prasar Bharati, however, has given him a total of Rs 70 lakh for the new programmes against the minimum demand of Rs 1 crore. However, he is sure that the rest of the amount will come after the budget estimates are revised in November (From : economictimes.com) Regds, (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. See NORWAY again ** NETHERLANDS. Radio 10 FM just announced that they will use Trintelhaven 1395 from tomorrow, they said around the clock, contrary to the original tender as well as the practice of the previous user BNR to transmit only during daytime due to co-channel Flläke. For the time being this arrangement will be in effect for one month. First they tried to get 1008 but Nozema refused to lease the transmitter to them for a single month only (Kai Ludwig, summary translation of the below, DXLD) Hallo Leute, Soeben hat Radio 10FM angesagt, daß die Unterhandlungen mit Sky Radio gescheitert sind. Ab morgen wird auf 1395 gesendet. Die Zeit wurde nicht angesagt, normalerweise schaltete BNR um 0600 (LT) ein, die Lizenz gilt für 'tagsüberem Gebrauch' (und brachtete der Staat stolze € 1.111). Dennoch würde um 2017 gesagt daß die 24/24 senden würden. Auf Rammkurs mit Albanien? So wird es vorest einen Monat weiter gehen, mit Option auf Verlängerung. Es würde zuerst versucht um auf 1008 auf Sendung zu geben, die Nozema wollte aber nicht Ihre Sender für eine einzige Monat vermieten. Laut http://www.radio.nl/home/medianieuws/001.zero_base/zerobase_nieuws/default.asp?readid=14863 Als kleine Anfüllung auf heutige Diskussionen wäre noch zu erwähnen daß manche FM Kawel klausiert (also mit einem vorbestimmten Format) vergeben würden. Welche Gesellschaft dann diese Aufgabe verfüllt in Nahmen des Frequenzeinhabers ist ziemlich Wurscht. Das können ja normalerweise ja auch freie Mitarbeiter sein. Dieses galt u.a. auch für das Kawel A02 Oldies, auf denen jetzt 'Radio 103 - de Gouwe Ouwe Zender' senden wird. Auf AM waren die Kawel sowieso unklausiert, obwohl ein Businessplan und 'Programmvornehmen' gefragt waren, womit Bonuspunkte zu verdienen waren. Da es nur eine Anfrage gab für 1395 wurden diesen nicht betrachtet. Ich nehme an, daß die Investionen sich lohnen werden für Quality Radio/Ruud Poeze, der Lizenzeinhaber. Radio 10 hat wieder der Rechtsweg angekündigt. Die Situation bleibt also dynamisch. Deswegen auch alle Angaben so sie mir jetzt bekannt sind aus zuverlässig geachteten Quellen. Schönes Wochende, alle (Wian Stienstra, A-DX via Kai Ludwig, DXLD) Have just noticed 675 is on an all rock format! Quite rare these days. Virgin is diluted rock. Arrow Classic Rock 675khz in Dutch from Lopik Holland It's playing all the old tracks you might have heard on Radio Caroline or RNLI. Go for it ! (Mike Dawson, ENGLAND, June 6, hard- core-dx via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. RADIO NEW ZEALAND GETS DOSH FOR FM From http://www.nbr.co.nz/print/print.asp?id=5835&cid=1&cname=Media (National Business Review via Mike Terry, June 5, DXLD) I think we had the same info a few weeks ago, and indeed the above is dated May 7. But what`s a dosh? Kiwese for ``crore`` or ``lakh``, in this case meaning $14.58 million? (gh, DXLD) ** NIGERIA [non]. Ron, de Nexus.Org, me informa que este semana van a retransmitir a RADIO ABEOKUTA, cuya transmisión será hoy viernes 6 de Junio a 2000-2030 UT en 5780 khz, via IRRS-Shortwave. Sus programas están destinados a la comunidad nigeriana actualmente viviendo en Europa. Radio Abeokuta será escuchada todos los viernes via IRRS- Shortwave a 2000-2030 UT en 5780 khz, con una repetición al miércoles siguiente en el mismo horario y frecuencia. Para más informaciones, visiten: http://www.abeokuta.org 73's GIB (Gabriel Iván Barrera, Conexión Digital via DXLD) English version see ITALY ** NORWAY. RADIO PROPAGANDA: TERRORIST GROUP BROADCASTS FROM NORWAY Voice Of Mesopotamia in Kurdish on 15675 from 0400-0800 allegedly comes from Norway. According to clandestineradio.com this one is backed by the PKK (Silvain Domen, Belgium, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. VOR – What`s New: SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING In the next edition of the program, on the air as of June 9th our Science Correspondent Boris Belitzky will first be speaking of Russian Arctic exploration, resumed after an interval of over ten years. He will then be answering listeners' questions about diabetes and about superstring theory. You can hear Science and Engineering on Monday at 0310, 0610 and 2010, Tuesday at 1610, Wednesday at 0410, 0710 and 1710, Thursday at 0310 and 2010, Friday at 0610, Saturday at 0410 and 1810 and Sunday at 0510 and 1610; all times UT. MOSCOW YESTERDAY AND TODAY In the first edition of Moscow Yesterday and Today in June – on the air on June 2 and the week following – we'll tell you about Russian literary genius Alexander Pushkin and about the time he spent in Moscow, which the poet himself described as the happiest in his life. The next three Moscow Yesterday and Today programs will focus on the history of Russia's ancient capital. We'll be speaking about Arbat, one of Moscow's oldest streets, which is over 500 years now. We invite you to tune in to the three consecutive editions of Moscow Yesterday and Today, beginning Monday, June 9. The program goes on the air on Monday at 0830 and 1930 UT and is repeated throughout the week. Our program guide can be found at: http://www.vor.ru/ep.html (via Maryanne Kehoe, GA, June 6, swprograms via DXLD) actually times should be :11 and :31.5 (gh) ** RUSSIA [non?]. ~7436.35, Radio Krishnaloka, 5 June, 0136-, SINPO 35433. A song ("hare, hare...") till 0142, followed by some music and ID at 0143. Station identifies itself as Radio Krishnaloka, announces frequency 7438 kHz (which is not exact) and invites to write to radioveda@m... [truncated] (Dmitry Mezin, Kazan, Russia, Signal June 5 via DXLD) There are some news regarding station's return (only in Russian) at: http://www.sanga.ru/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=news&Number=8824&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&part= And they are considering a plan to rename the station to Radio Veda. (Konstantin Gusev, Moscow, Russia, ibid.) Don't mix it up with Radio Vedo which operates from Volgograd in MW/FM! (open_dx ? Vasily Guliayev, Astrakhan, Russia, ibid.) ** SEYCHELLES [non]. Hi Glenn, In the midst of the generally poor reception conditions. There was one good signal here in the U.S. Midwest: Far East Broadcasting Association Radio via Moosbrunn Austria; 6/6/03. 9465; 0139-0200; SINPO 24333; F. Announcer to South Asian musical bridge until 0145; FEBA interval signal once; sign on in another language to M. announcer; south Asian music to sign off 0200. Schedule shows Sindhi until 0145; Siraiki 0145-0200 to Pakistan (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SICILY [non?]. Just heard ``Buona sera`` at 2300 UT June 6 on 6060, a pretty good signal. Is Caltanissetta really closed or is this Rome? (Chris Hambly, Victoria, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. HAM LICENSING CONFUSION Meantime, in the Southern Hemisphere, some questions and some possible answers regarding the confused state of ham radio licensing in the Solomon Islands. Q-News Graham Kemp, VK4BB, has the details: Sam Voron, VK2BVS, spoke to QNEWS from an Internet kiosk at Dubai airport. Sam was en route to Somalia, but paused just long enough to answer a few rumors regarding the Solomon Island H44 prefix licenses. According to Voron, there had been no way for people to get a license in the Solomons because there are no exams there. So in 2002 the H44 national radio regulatory body called Spectrum printed 21 novice licenses with the call signs chosen by students at a radio school. These are people took the Unrestricted level license class of ham radio training. But Spectrum said that it first wanted to issue Novice licenses because it felt new operators should start with an entry level ticket before moving on to a full license. But Voron admits that at least two of these licenses may have been issued with Unrestricted privileges. According to Voron, the Secretary of the H44 national ham society has now drawn up an Unrestricted exam. Students not happy being forced into the novice license when they spent 6 months studying for the Unrestricted will be able to take the exam. If they pass, they will go directly to the Unrestricted instead of the Novice class operating privileges. In further news just in and unsubstantiated as yet, the real exam is ready. Spectrum has directed the candidates to sit for it. The school and candidates are said to be delaying because they are frightened that it may be to hard. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I`m Graham Kemp, VK4BB, of Q-News, down-under, in Brisbane, Australia. No matter when that first upgrade test is held, it appears as if a method is at least now in place for native born Solomon Islanders to take an Amateur Radio exam. (Q-News via Amateur Radio Newsline June 6 via John Norfolk, DXLD) 'HAPPY ISLES' ON THE BRINK OF ANARCHY" CANBERRA CONSIDERS ARMED INTERVENTION ON SOLOMON ISLANDS --- Friday, June 06, 2003 Government tourism promotions tout the Solomon Islands as the "Pearl of the Pacific" -- an unspoiled natural paradise of pristine, sandy beaches, butterflies as big as birds, rare orchids and submarine volcanoes. In reality, the "Happy Isles" have become a living hell, torn by ethnic conflict, rampant lawlessness and a collapsed economy. . . http://www.nationalpost.com/world/story.html?id=5641F964-1A49-4F28-AF50-03F93DE8CD10 Not exactly radio-related, but the Solomon Islands problems have gotten little press in NAm. 73- (Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** SOMALIA. SURVEY OF THE COUNTRY'S MEDIA ENVIRONMENT Overview - a fragmented media scene The media environment in Somalia - a "failed state" - presents a paradox. The prolonged absence of an effective government has, on one hand, resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of media sources, while on the other it has put journalists at risk from kidnappers, extortionists, murderers and warring factions interested in controlling information and propagating their individual viewpoints. During Muhammad Siyad Barreh's authoritarian administration (1969-91), Somalia's media consisted of a handful of state-owned and government- controlled outlets: two radio stations, one television station, one daily newspaper and a few other periodicals. The civil war that followed Siyad Barreh's downfall led to a fragmentation of authority and a proliferation of new media sources, many of them closely tied to one or another of the factions and self-declared independent authorities competing for power. Somalia now has a wide variety of newspapers, radio stations and Internet sites, but they operate in a dangerous environment that undermines both professional journalism and press freedom. Radio is the most accessible form of media in the country, where a literacy rate estimated at only 38 per cent limits the readership for print media. There are, however, a number of short, photocopied daily newspapers published in the larger cities. Most of the newspapers and radio stations have a local or regional audience, rather than a national one. The Internet sites, many based in the United States, Canada or Europe, have an international reach and an audience of Somali expatriates, but relatively few people in Somalia itself have access to the Internet. Because of technical and financial problems, few Somalis have access to television. Somali is the principal language of the country's media, including the Internet, though there is English and Arabic-language content in some media, and some English is used on the Internet. Restrictions on media freedom Independent observers agree that there is very little media freedom in Somalia. Reporters Without Borders http://www.rsf.org classifies Somalia as a "difficult situation" for the media, citing as reasons both "repression by official authorities" and "threats by warlords". The Freedom House Press Survey of 2002, published on the organization's web site http://www.freedomhouse.org found Somalia to be one of the least free in Africa. Freedom House also included Somalia among the 16 most repressive states in the world in its 2003 Special Report to the UN Human Rights Commission. Because Somalia's Transitional National Government (TNG) does not control the entire country - or even all of Mogadishu - it does not exercise effective control over the country's media. Local warlords and clan leaders, however, do exercise considerable influence on various media outlets, many of which serve as mouthpieces of their political sponsors. The governments of the self-proclaimed republics of Somaliland, in northwest Somalia, and Puntland, in the northeast, have established somewhat stronger control over their territories and the media. Like the TNG's Transitional Charter, Somaliland's Constitution and Puntland's Charter provide for freedom of the press, but authorities in both entities restrict journalists in practice, according to the US State Department's 2002 Human Rights Report. The last 12 years of disorder have also seen a reduction in levels of journalistic professionalism. Before the collapse of the government in 1991, the country's two radio stations, Radio Mogadishu and Radio Hargeysa, had a total of "500 staff, most of whom were graduates of the Faculty of Journalism at the National University", according to "Up in the Air: The State of Broadcasting in Eastern Africa", a study by the Panos Institute, an international NGO interested in media issues. The study estimated that the number had fallen to less than 50 by 2000. "Present-day broadcasters are not required to be qualified and are not paid proper salaries," the study says. Journalists have been making some efforts, however, to improve the state of the profession. In November 2001, for example, a group of journalists formed the Haatuf Media Network, a cooperative publishing venture designed to allow journalists greater editorial independence. In August 2002, reporters from major Somali web sites established the Somali Journalism Network, Sojon, the first organization of Internet journalists in Africa. Sojon has become a lobbying group for press freedom and has sponsored training programmes for Somali journalists. In May 2003, Somali journalists announced the formation of a 23-member committee to promote press freedom and protect the human rights of journalists. Radio Radio is the most accessible form of media in Somalia. Chinese-made receivers, usually designed as imitations of major brands such as Philips and Sony, are widely available at low cost throughout the country. Radio sets are often shared appliances within a village or neighbourhood, where people gather to listen to a favourite programme. Somalia has at least a dozen radio stations, including at least seven which broadcast from Mogadishu; others are based in the self-declared autonomous states of Somaliland and Puntland, and elsewhere. All broadcast in Somali, though some of the stations also have English- language programming. Some stations in southwest Somalia use the local Rahanwein language. Recent years have seen a trend away from shortwave (SW) broadcasting and towards FM. In 2001 there were as many as five SW stations broadcasting, while by the end of 2002 there was only one. This trend could be due partly to technical problems with the older SW transmitters, but that it could also reflect a desire on the part of the faction leaderships to concentrate on audiences in their immediate area of influence rather than to reach a national audience. The FM stations tend to be located in urban areas, so as SW broadcasting decreases, the population outside the major cities is rendered more dependent on foreign SW broadcasting, such as the BBC. In the Panos study, "Up in the Air", Abdalla Musa Abdi describes the use of more than 500 radiophones throughout Somalia. The phones, known locally as "the Internet", provide an unofficial, unregulated means of gathering and disseminating information within the country. According to Abdi, even "journalists with international news agencies rely on them for news from remote areas and the Mogadishu-based newspapers often quote them as sources". In addition, they are used for advertising in Somalia's surprisingly brisk local economy. Subject to no controls, the radiophones contribute to "confusion on the airwaves", but Abdi sees them as playing a "pivotal role" in local communications. According to the US State Department's 2002 Human Rights Report, the majority of Somalis get their news from foreign broadcasts. The BBC World Service in Somali has long been a popular and trusted news source, but there have been reports that some Somalis complained that during the war in Iraq in 2003 BBC reporting was biased against Muslims and Iraq. Some Somali communities in Canada and Europe operate radio stations, such as the Toronto-based Radio Golis http://www.radiogolis.com and the Hague-based Radio Dalmar http://www.soneca.nl whose primary audiences are diaspora Somalis. Some radio stations, such as Mogadishu-based Radio Banaadir and Radio HornAfrik, as well as Radio Golis and Radio Dalmar, make their content available via their web sites. Expatriate Somalis make up the principal audience for these services as well. Experienced media observers note that Somali radio stations receive most of their financial support from political factions or clans. Some stations carry advertisements, but advertising has not yet become an essential source of revenue. Martin Breum, journalist and deputy director of International Media Support, has listed Radio HornAfrik, Radio Banaadir, and Radio STN (Somali Telemedia Network) as among the stations financed, at least in part, through advertising. Some stations sell broadcasting time to aid agencies, such as UNICEF, for their educational and informational programmes. Radio stations in Mogadishu Radio HornAfrik and Radio Banaadir are, according to long-time observers of Somali media, the most influential radio stations in Mogadishu. Radio HornAfrik broadcasts on FM. Established in 1999, the station has become the most popular one in Mogadishu. HornAfrik includes programming from the BBC, CNN and Al-Jazeera in its regular broadcasts. The station makes its content available on a web site http://www.hornafrik.com in audio as well as in English and Somali textual formats. Though owned by members of interim President Abdiqasim Salad Hasan's Habargidir sub-clan, Radio HornAfrik is respected as a relatively independent radio. In fact, three HornAfrik officials received a "freedom of the press" award in Canada in November 2002. HornAfrik's independent attitudes may have annoyed the TNG, notwithstanding its clan affiliations. On 10 January 2003, for example, heavily armed gunmen stormed HornAfrik's premises, forcibly shutting down radio and television transmitters. A report on the Swedish-based Internet site Somaliweyn linked the attack to the TNG president's threats to arrest the HornAfrik radio station management and claimed that the president's body guards were among the attackers. HornAfrik continues to broadcast. Founded in late 1999/early 2000, Radio Banaadir is a privately owned radio station that currently broadcasts on FM and shortwave. It also has a web site - http://www.radiobanadir.com According to media observers, clans, factions and ordinary Somalis respect Radio Banaadir for its professional, objective reporting. Its newscasts regularly cover the activities of the interim president and his government, as well as those of major clan leaders and opposition figures. It reports on factional fighting in an objective tone and without taking sides or assigning blame. The station reports the activities of civil and social leaders - especially efforts by public groups and clan elders to work for an end to fighting. Somalia's TNG operates an FM radio known as Radio Mogadishu, Voice of the Republic of Somalia. The radio suffers from financial troubles, which took it off the air for several weeks in July 2002. According to various news reports, the station had failed to pay debts owed to businessmen whose generators supplied electricity for the radio's transmitters, so the electricity was shut off (Mogadishu Ruunkinet Internet site, 6 July 2002). The radio reopened in August, having moved to a different location. Radio Mogadishu's news bulletins focus primarily on the activities and statements of members of the TNG. In January 2003, a TNG minister praised the station and pledged to provide "the latest equipment" to Radio Mogadishu to improve its signal. In May 2003 it was reported that the TNG president had bought a SW transmitter for the station; the report noted that, at present, Radio Banaadir was the only station in Mogadishu to operate on SW (Dayniile web site, 5 May 2003). A similarly named radio - Radio Mogadishu, Voice of the People of the Somali Republic - also broadcasts in Mogadishu. This radio - which serves as the mouthpiece of faction leader Husayn Muhammad Aydid, the Somali National Alliance and the Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council - strongly opposes the TNG. Aydid inherited the property of the former state-owned radio, which had been captured by his father in 1991. According to the Panos Institute study, as of 2000 this station owned the only broadcast studio worth the name in the country. A third Radio Mogadishu, this one with the suffix "Voice of Somali Pacification", used to be heard broadcasting in support of faction leader Uthman Ato. This station began broadcasting in 1995 but has not been confirmed as operational recently. According to the Panos Institute study, it used military and police radiophones to broadcast. Somali Telemedia Network Radio (STN) is a commercially oriented radio available on satellite and FM. It was set up in October 1999 with technical assistance from the JVC company of Japan and Germany's Grundig. Its target audience, according to media observers, is the Somali diaspora. Holy Koran Radio, another FM station, identifies itself as "the voice of Ahlu Sunnah Waljama, Mogadishu". The privately owned station, founded in the mid-1990s, includes regular news bulletins in its programming but generally steers clear of controversial and international subjects. Ahlu Sunnah Waljama is a mainstream Sunni Islamic organization. Radio Shabeelle, another private, commercial FM station in Mogadishu, has a sister station in Marka, a town about 50 miles southwest of Mogadishu. Its Internet site http://www.shabele.com/Profile.htm outlines the station's "free, neutral and unbiased" media mission and claims an audience of more than 1.8 million. Government actions against Mogadishu radio stations The Somali TNG has from time to time taken action against radio stations for programming deemed to be offensive in some way. Attorney- General Ilyas Hasan Mahmud, for example, accused Radio HornAfrik of violating Article 2 of the national constitution, which forbids propagating any faith other than Islam, by airing a Christian programme (Toronto-based SomaliNet, 30 May 2002). Radio HornAfrik countered by saying that the programme in question was simply a relay of a BBC broadcast over which Radio HornAfrik had no control. In June 2002, two reporters of Radio HornAfrik were summoned before the national prosecutors to answer charges of "disseminating news detrimental to the existence of the Somali nation", a charge that had been made against the station in the past (TNG's Radio Mogadishu, 24 June 2002). In August 2002, the speaker of the TNG parliament banned Radio Banaadir from covering events in parliament and then gave a stern lecture to other reporters, telling them to stop their "negative and contemptuous" reporting. According to the Mogadishu web site Codka Xoriyadda (13 August 2002), parliamentary leaders had been annoyed by the radio broadcasting interviews with "rebel MPs" and reporting on the "malpractices of parliamentary leaders". In reaction, a number of local media owners and journalists met and agreed that all would cease covering parliamentary activities until the Speaker changed his attitude. A few weeks later, the TNG Speaker forced through parliament a new press law requiring all media to be licensed by the government and forbidding the publication of any material deemed "contrary to the common interest" (Somaalijecel web site). Following another round of strikes and protests by journalists, the president promised to return the law to parliament for revision. The issue remained unresolved as of May 2003. Radio in Puntland Early in May 2002 Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad became the new leader of Puntland by taking control of Puntland's major port city, Boosaaso, by force. Within weeks he ordered the closure of the Somali Broadcasting Corporation's (SBC) radio and television stations in Boosaaso. According to media reports, Yusuf shut down SBC in Boosaaso - while allowing the SBC substations in the capital Garoowe and the third-largest town of Qardho to operate -because the Boosaaso station supported the administration of Jama Ali Jama, the former elected Puntland leader (UN's Integrated Regional Information Network, IRIN, 28 May). The new Puntland authorities, however, explained their actions in a press release charging that SBC disseminated hate material and that its owner, Ali Abdi Aware, was a prominent member of the militant Muslim group Al-Ittihad Al-Islami, which has been accused of having links with Al-Qa'idah (AllPuntland.com, 22 May 2002). In May 2003, Puntland's information minister announced that, on the instructions of Abdullahi Yusuf, his ministry was restoring the broadcasting licence of SBC radio and television. In a separate action, Puntland authorities in August 2002 banned two BBC correspondents, who they claimed were not being objective in their reporting (IRIN, 19 August 2002). Unaffected by the action against SBC were a shortwave radio in the town of Gaalkacyo and an FM station in Boosaaso called Radio Midnimo. Radio Gaalkacyo, on its web site, claims its goal is to provide "a line of non-political information" and that its target audience includes "all communities, excluding political factions and those who are not promoting peace, stability and coexistence". The radio has received funding from international organizations, such as Oxfam Canada, with an interest in promoting peace and reconciliation in the region. Nevertheless, media observers note that the radio has always been closely tied to Abdullahi Yusuf. The radio demonstrated allegiance to Abdullahi Yusuf, for example, by continuing to refer to him as "president" after his term expired in June 2001 and he unilaterally extended its mandate. Though Puntland's elders rejected his claim in July and elected Jama Ali Jama president in November, Radio Gaalkacyo continued to refer to Abdullahi Yusuf as president in its news reports. Press reports have indicated also that Abdullahi Yusuf's clan has provided financial support to the radio. Radio Midnimo - Midnimo means "unity" in Somali - is a privately owned radio. The station's majority shareholder (60 per cent) is Puntland's deputy information minister, Abdishakur Mire. The station has broadcast from Boosaaso during the administrations of both Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad and his rival Jama Ali Jama. Radio in Somaliland Radio Hargeysa, controlled by the government of the self-declared independent "Republic of Somaliland", broadcasts via both FM and shortwave transmitters. It is currently the only radio in the territory of Somaliland. The government of Somaliland banned all privately owned radio stations in June 2002, forbidding anyone from bringing private radio broadcasting equipment into the country and requiring people to surrender all such equipment to the Ministry of Information. In announcing the ban, the Ministry of Information declared: "No other voice can be heard on the airwaves except Radio Hargeysa, which is the national voice" (Radio Hargeysa, 20 June 2002). Its web site is http://www.geocities.com/radiohargeisa Newspapers Experienced media observers note that print media have more influence in urban areas than in rural areas. Newspapers are widely available in major cities, where many people can afford to buy them. In rural areas, the lack of transportation and retail infrastructure to distribute newspapers limits readership. The country's low literacy rate also limits newspaper readership, though those who do read newspapers often share the content with illiterate neighbours and family members. The country's papers are all published in Somali, though some have English-language content as well. Somalia has over 15 newspapers, but the number is always fluctuating and regular publication is not always reliable. The majority of newspapers are typewritten and then photocopied (Human Rights Report 2002). With the exception of the Mogadishu-based Qaran, which prints 800 copies daily, circulation figures range between 100 and 600. Several Somali newspapers have Internet versions, making them easily available to Somalis living abroad. Just as with the print versions, most of the content is in the Somali language, though some is in English. In addition to standard news articles, mostly dealing with domestic politics and clan warfare, Somali newspapers have political cartoons, advertisements and a few obituaries. Travel agencies, restaurants, pharmacies and health clinics are among the more common advertisers. Advertisements tend to be simple and drab rather than eye-catching or glossy -partly because subsidies from clans and factions, not commercial advertising, provide most of the funding for the papers. Most of the world news stories in Somali papers come from foreign news services. Occasionally, Somali journalists write about major policy issues, such as Europe's relations with Somalia; elections in Europe, the United States or Arab countries; and major sporting events, such as the World Cup. Somali newspapers regularly carry foreign news items in which Somalia is mentioned either positively or negatively. They also publish major news stories taken from the BBC, the Voice of America, leading US newspapers and television stations, Al-Jazeera TV and Arabic-language dailies from London such as Al-Sharq al-Awsat. Newspapers in Mogadishu Mogadishu, the seat of the TNG, has at least three privately owned daily newspapers that consistently publish articles on the political situation in Somalia - Qaran, Ayaamaha and Xog-Ogaal. Qaran - the name means "nation" in Somali - was one of the first neutral sources of news. According to experienced observers, Qaran tries to avoid taking sides on issues that divide clans. Media observers report that Ayaamaha and Xog-Ogaal are considered relatively balanced, although some observers question the accuracy of Ayaamaha's reporting and the objectivity of any Mogadishu-based source. All three of these newspapers have Internet versions. The primary audience for these newspapers, according to media observers, consists of Mogadishu residents, as well Somalis living in Eastleigh, a section of Nairobi, Kenya, heavily populated by Somalis. The readership of these papers comprises a range of political affiliations, including the TNG, the United Somali Congress, the United Somali Congress-Somali National Alliance, the United Somali Congress-Peace Movement, the Somali National Alliance, the Somali Reconciliation and Reconstruction Council, the Somali National Front, the Jubba Valley Alliance and the Somali Democratic Movement. The subclan affiliations of the people who are likely to read these papers include Hawiye, Darod and Digil-Mirifle. Newspapers in Puntland Puntland's newspapers include Riyaaq, which is published in the town of Garoowe, and Kaaha-Bari, published in Boosaaso. Both papers are regarded by media observers as independent, in that they do not seem to represent the voice of a particular faction. Kaaha-Bari, with a circulation of about 300, is the most popular newspaper in Puntland, and it offers the most in-depth reporting. Riyaaq tends to be more critical of the government. The Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad regime in Puntland issued a statement in May calling Riyaaq the "official mouthpiece of Al-Ittihad in Puntland" (AllPuntland.com, 22 May 2002). The charge was made to justify action taken against a local BBC employee who also runs Riyaaq. Though this was not the first time Abdullahi Yusuf had made this claim, no-one else seems to have ever asserted a connection between Riyaaq and Al-Ittihad. The readerships of Kaaha-Bari and Riyaaq are largely confined to their cities of publication. According to media observers, members of the Majerten and Dulbahante subclans of the Darod clan are likely to be the primary audience of these publications. Newspapers in Somaliland The principal newspapers of Somaliland are Jamhuuriya http://www.jamhuriya.com and Mandeeq. Both are based in Somaliland's capital, Hargeysa. Jamhuuriya is critical of the Somaliland government's policies, though it does support the Somaliland secessionist movement. Jamhuuriya has a more sophisticated page design and layout than most of Somalia's newspapers. Its content includes news, human-interest stories, and cartoons. Most of Jamhuuriya's readers are Somaliland residents, but it also has readers in Puntland, Mogadishu, and the Middle East. Mandeeq is closely linked to the president of Somaliland. It offers routine reporting on government officials and defends the government's position on various issues. According to media observers, both of these Hargeysa publications are likely to be read by Somaliland authorities and members of the Udub, Ucid, Sahan, Ileyska, Asad, Hormood, Birson, Kulmiye and Umad political parties, as well as members of the Isaq, Warsangeli and Gadabursi subclans. The Somaliland government's supporters and opponents alike are likely to read both these papers in order to know what the other group is saying. In November 2001, a team of Somaliland journalists who worked for Jamhuuriya, feeling "deprived of an institution that would enable them to practise their profession with dignity and editorial independence," established the Haatuf Media Network. In addition to producing the Somali-language newspaper Haatuf and the Arabic-language Al-Haatef, the Haatuf cooperation association launched an English-language weekly, The Somaliland Times, in January 2002. The Haatuf group maintains a lively presence on the Internet http://www.haatuf.net/ and http://www.somalilandforum.com/news/haatuf/ Television Television is not widely available because of the high cost of television sets and the lack of electricity throughout most of the country. In Mogadishu, though, a few tea kiosks and restaurants have televisions playing for customers. Mogadishu has two television stations, Somali Telemedia Network (STN) and HornAfrik TV. Both are privately owned. Both stations rebroadcast Qatar-based Al-Jazeera TV and CNN. In Somaliland, government-run Somaliland TV is available for people living around Hargeysa. In addition, a private commercial cable television is available in the city of Hargeysa and serves, according to the Panos study, approximately 350 customers. Puntland has no television station. In addition to news and locally produced sitcoms, Somali television programming also includes talk shows, which, according to media observers, are becoming increasingly popular. Rival faction leaders sometimes appear on talk shows together, discussing a range of issues, while their militias are facing each other on the ground. Internet Somalia was the last country in Africa to obtain local Internet service. Now, Somalis in Somalia and the diaspora have embraced the Internet as a tool for spreading information about the political situation, hosting chat rooms, and advertising money transfer and telecom services. Media observers have noted that there does not appear to be any objection to the Internet in Somalia, as there is in Sudan, where radical Islamists condemned the Internet because it could spread Western ideals. Prior to November 2001, the Somali Internet Company was the ISP for Mogadishu, as well as for Hargeysa in Somaliland and Boosaaso in Puntland. The company went out of business, however, following the attacks on 11 September when the United States took action against one of its principal partners, the money-transfer company Al-Barakat, which was suspected of facilitating the financing of Al-Qa'idah operations. Somalia was without Internet service for two months until in January 2002 a company called NetXchange filled the void. NetXchange initially claimed to have "40 call shops and Internet cafes with a total of 2,000 telephone lines". The high cost of service, however, and the lack of a functioning telecommunications infrastructure in the country make widespread access to the Internet impossible. Despite barriers to Internet access, Somalia has a high number of news web sites reporting on domestic events. Many of these are set up by Somalis living abroad, or are designed to serve them. According to media observers, most of the sites reflect the opinions and interests of Somalis of a particular region or political affiliation. The AllPuntland.com site http://www.allpuntland.com/ for instance, supports Colonel Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad, the leader of Puntland. The Ottawa-based Radio Somaliland site and the Vancouver-based Somaliland Net http://www.somalilandnet.com support the government of Somaliland and appeal to an audience of emigrant Somalis who come from that region. An Arlaadinet site, based in Bankstown, Australia, supports the Rahanwein Resistance Army faction and appeals to Somalis originally from the southwest towns of Bay and Bakool. Many sites such as these, based in Canada, Australia and Europe, make use of reporters still living in Somalia, and thus provide accurate and current information about developments in the country. The Internet sites often provide unique information derived from telephone conversations with individuals in Somalia. They also post material from Mogadishu newspapers and other sources. Source: BBC Monitoring research Jun 03(Chris Greenway, Kenya, BBCM via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. Here is some latest info on Sri Lanka: SLBC has swapped their 9 and 11 MHz channels again. Today on 9770 English Service noted (ex 11905)rather than the usual Hindi Service which was heard on 11905 (ex 9770)like in the past. Must check up their evening schedules and see what`s going on. Sked: English 0030-0430, 1230-1530 Indian 0020-0400, 0800-1530 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, ATOJ, June 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation External Services (Revised schedule as monitored on 6.6.03 by Jose Jacob, India) English 0030-0430 6005, 9770(ex 11905), 15745 (S.Asia) 1230-1530 6005, 9770(ex 11930), 15745 ,, Hindi 0020-0400 7300, 11905(ex 9770) (S.Asia) 1330-1530 7300, 11905(ex 9770) ,, Kannada 0800-0830 7300, 11905(ex 9770) (S.Asia) Malayalam 1000-1130 7300, 11905(ex 9770) (S.Asia) Sinhala 1545-1900 11775 (Middle East) Tamil 1130-1330 7300, 11905(ex 9770) (S.Asia) Telegu 0830-1000 7300, 11905(ex 9770) (S.Asia) English 1900-2000 6010 (Skelton) Saturdays (Europe) 73 Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, ATOJ National Institute of Amateur Radio Box 1555, Somajiguda Hyderabad 500082, India Telefax: 91-40-23310287 To join dx_india reflector which specialises exclusively on Broadcasting in India, send an email to dx_india-subscribe@yahoogroups.com (via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. Try your hand at creating lyrics for Groove Zone's new theme song, and you could win a prize! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Groove Zone Theme Song Lyrics-Writing Competition Have you ever wanted to try your hand at writing lyrics? Now is your chance! The Groove Zone is looking for help creating lyrics to fit into our new theme song. All you have to do is listen to the new song by clicking at the RTI website. You can also hear the song twice in each edition of Groove Zone on June 7th, 14th, and 21st. (Click (here) to see our program schedule for the time and frequency of Groove Zone broadcasts). We are looking for lyrics which fit the mood of our show, and fit the flute melody that can be heard about half way through the song. (Andrew and Ellen hum the melody on the program). Please send your lyrics by June 22nd at the latest. If we choose your lyrics for our theme song, you will win a prize. The new song (complete with Ellen and Andrew singing the lyrics) will be broadcast on the 6/28 edition of Groove Zone. Good luck, and thanks for listening to Groove Zone! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Central Broadcasting System No. 55 Pei An Road Taipei, Taiwan. R.O.C. http://www.cbs.org.tw Regds (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi,India, GRDXC via DXLD). ** TOGO [non]. Thanks to tip from Glenn Hauser (in DX Listening Digest 3-099) tuned into Radio Togo Libre this afternoon (Fri 6 June) on 21760 at 1300-1400 UT. Programme in (African) French with many IDs as "RTL - R. Togo Libre". Schedule often repeated with patriotic dialogue interspersed with Afro-Cuban rumba style songs (one of which concluded the broadcast at 1400). Fairly weak signal but interference-free with moderate fading. As usual with TDP arranged relays, guess as to the transmitter site --- only scheduled Mon-Fri 1300-1400 on 21760 (as Channel Africa from Meyerton here 1300-1500 at weekends). (Also scheduled per TDP website via DXLD Sun 2000-2100 on 12125 kHz). (Alan Pennington, BDXC-UK Caversham, UK AOR 7030+ / Datong active, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks to Glenn Hauser and his DX Listening Guide, I´m just now 1325 UT listening to R TOGO LIBRE with many IDs. Heard French on this channel long before scheduled 13-14 UT [M-F only]. Another given frequency is 12125 kHz 20-21 UT [Sundays only]. Never heard this/about this station. Origin of transmitter?! 73`s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku FINLAND, PS. Turku was born 1229 and it`s the former capital of Finland, June 6, DX LISTENIN DIGEST) Radio Togo Libre heard 6th June 1255 to past 1335 on 21760, talk in French 1255, time pips on the hour, possible identification but buried under local noise, mix of talks and African music, faded up 1328 and clear "Radio Togo Libre" identification by man on the half hour, continued with African music. Weak to fair with fading and poor copy at times fighting local noise level. I notice Meyerton uses 21760 for Channel Africa English 1300-1500 Sat, Sun, TDP has this one scheduled 1300-1400 Mon-Fri per Glenn Hauser in DXLD 3-099 (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Mike. I was listening exactly at the same time. I'm not sure if the program in French before 1300 was Radio Togo Libre. Did not sound like them. At 1300 time pips and into Togolese song. Then ID by male "Radio Togo Libre". The first couple of minutes program content sounds exactly the same as the audiofile at their website http://www.diastode.org/Nouvelles/nouvelle1391.html Just wonder what program in French was at 1255 if not RTL then (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Thanks to the info from Glenn Hauser DXLD 3-099, I managed to hear this clandestine. Radio Togo Libre on 6 Jun at 1300 on 21760 with rather good signal. Togolese song and ID in French. At 1255 on this frequency was also heard French programming, but I don't think it was RTL then. The 1300 RTL program-start sounded exactly the same as the audiofile at http://www.diastode.org/Nouvelles/nouvelle1391.html 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Hi Glenn. Re: Radio Togo Libre DXLD 3-099 item. There is some info about RTL at http://www.diastode.org/Nouvelles/nouvelle1391.html Including an audio of their first (?) broadcast. Nice ID with frequencies in the beginning of the audio file. Later... I tuned to 21760 on 6 Jun at 1255 and there was a French program in progress. Did not get ID but sounds like it was not R Togo Libre at that moment. At 1300 time pips and then into Togolese song and R Togo Libre ID. After listening for a few minutes, the program did sound same as the one I mentioned earlier (on their website). I have nasty noises on 21 MHz from the computers inside the house, but the signal strength was rather good. So, what's the transmitter site...? 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later:] RFI is scheduled 1230-1300 in French via Meyerton on 21760. So, R Togo Libre starts at 1300 just after RFI time pips. RTL must be from Meyerton, too, as there was no gap in carrier/program. Clockwork. Jari Savolainen, dxing.info via DXLD) Radio Togo Libre. The most probable site for this station on 21760 "could" be Meyerton, South Africa. Radio Togo Libre 1300-1400 21760 Mon-Fri. I checked other usage of this frequency, and it fits perfectly into these ones: 21760 R.FRANCE INT. 1200-1300 All days French Meyerton 21760 CHANNEL AFRICA 1300-1455 Sat, Sun English Meyerton The other broadcast 2000-2100 12125 Sun, seems to fit into the pattern of other TDP brokered broadcasts via Russian sites. In addition I can confirm that the music on their website http://www.diastode.org/Nouvelles/actualites.html indeed is the national anthem of Togo. I compared it with the midi-entry on http://www.thenationalanthems.com/ (Silvain Domen, Belgium, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The website: RADIO TOGO LIBRE, LA RADIO DU COMBAT POUR L'ALTERNANCE DÉMOCRATIQUE (Diastode.org, 1er juin 2003) À l'occasion des élections présidentielles de ce 1er juin, et surtout en prévision de la suite des choses, la Concertation Nationale de la Société Civile (CNSC) et la Diaspora Togolaise pour la Démocratie et le Développement (DIASTODE) se sont associées pour mettre sur pied une station de radio en ondes courtes, dénommée Radio Togo Libre. Pour éviter que les bourreaux du Peuple ne n'empêchent l'émission de la radio, la mise en ondes et la retransmission seront faites hors du Togo, par système satellitaire. Cette procédure a généré toutefois des problèmes de transfert de fichiers audio à partir du Togo. Ainsi, de multiples difficultés techniques et matérielles ont malheureusement empêché le démarrage de la radio, qui était prévu pour le vendredi 30 mai 2003. Une première plage d'émission a été réalisée pour ce dimanche, mais n'a pas pu être mise en ondes à temps, pour les mêmes raisons. Elle le sera incessamment. Les réalisateurs mettent les bouchées doubles, pour que les choses soient opérationnelles prochainement. Écouter la première plage d'émission de RTL http://www.diastode.org/Musique/EMission1.mp3 Radio Togo Libre (RTL): la Radio patriote, le combat pour l'alternance démocratique. Les fréquences: 12125 KHz et 27760 KHz Contact: rtl@diastode.org (website via DXLD) Indeed, it is brand new. Ha! Got their own frequency wrong --- imagine all the poor Togolese trying to hear them on 27760; anyway, above says they have had lots of problems transferring the audio to the transmitter site, but they are using satellite to avoid jamming. I seriously doubt the two SW frequencies come from satellite. The audio file of first broadcast is nice, 128 kbps mp3. The opening ID also says 27760, but the second and further references get it right, 21760 --- meaningless numbers, anyway, to the uninitiated. Since this service is prompted by an election, perhaps it will soon vanish? Get it while you can. In the sixth minute, they switch from French to some African language (gh, DXLD) ** U K. TELEVISION`S CROWNING GLORY On 2 June 1953, BBC TV announcer Sylvia Peters introduced live coverage of the Coronation of HM Queen Elizabeth II. It proved to be the occasion that propelled the UK into the television age. . . http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/uk030606.html (Andy Sennitt, RN Media Network 06-06-03 via DXLD) ** U S A. PARTIAL DEREGULATION Donna Helper, media consultant and college prof, posted the following on another forum a couple of days ago. I believe those who participate here will also appreciate it. ------- (Donna wrote:) There is a very thorough article by Boston-based media critic Dan Kennedy in the new issue of the Phoenix, about the FCC decision and its ramifications. Okay fine, I am quoted in it, but it's still a good article! ------- Here's the URL: http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/top/features/documents/02931075.htm I found it both comprehensive and objective. Maybe there's at least a ray of hope for derailing Commissioner Powell's runaway train after all (Tom Bryant, TN, June 6, WTFDA Soundoff via DXLD) ** U S A. Re Tampa TV station: Bob, I've made it sort of a minor-hobby into looking for the lies in broadcasting. When I listen to airchecks I'm entertained by the music and presentation, but there are also some jewels that pop through. People don't check the facts, so there are often some "claims" that are far from the truth. A white lie would be where a station promos we bring you 10 minutes of local news every hour. When you add it up, they come to around 7 minutes, but that is counting (2) 45 second weathers during the hour, and (1) "here's what coming up at the top of the hour". Then, the cast is repeated (the same content) for an 8 hour period without an update. Another case in the white lie dept is when the station claims that ABC news is part of their local news. A stupid lie is when they promo as being "the station to turn to when severe weather happens". I've heard a few of them where a major thunderstorm is happening, and their automated report is saying "partly cloudy with a chance of storms." Every so often you catch the voice track lie, where a station has a lot of voice tracking and the wrong weather is sent, or the announcer slaughters the name of a city. Then they plug the end of the weather forecast with "I'm ____ in the WZZZ weather forecast office." Someday I'll have to visit the station and ask to see the office. |grin| BTW, the best voice track gaff I heard was when a local station aired weather forecasts for another town some 200+ miles away, complete with the tag for the station out of town (And it was an FM station ID on an AM station, too). The lie that really bothers me is when a station claims to have integrity in their broadcasts, yet they have problems delivering inventory properly. Case in point was when a station had their promos and other spots playing at the same time as another schedule spot. What you heard on the air was two commercials and liners on the air together. And, the client was billed for that commercial. Now, in fairness, the station did comp the client some extra spots; however they were out of the normal flight and I always wondered if all the advertisers for that three week period were compensated for the loss. Sad, but when you listen to radio these days you have to take what you hear with a grain of salt (Fred Vobbe, Lima OH, June 5, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. CONDITION OF STUNT JUMPER IMPROVES By DAN HERBECK, News Staff Reporter, 6/3/2003 The condition of an Amherst man who was injured when he parachuted off a television broadcasting tower was upgraded to "fair" Monday at Erie County Medical Center. Hospital officials said Martin Schaefer, 32, is recovering from multiple injuries suffered after jumping an estimated 420 feet off the WIVB [Buffalo NY] television broadcasting tower in Colden late Friday night. Schaefer was hurt while taking part in a controversial "underground sport" called BASE jumping, authorities said. BASE is an acronym for "building, antenna, span and earth," referring to the structures that participants use as jumping-off points. Police believe the leap that nearly took Schaefer's life was his third BASE jump. "His family has told me that, last year, he jumped off a mountain in Norway, and off a bridge in West Virginia," said Senior Detective James Hatch of the Erie County Sheriff's Department. "This was to be his "antenna jump' Friday night." Hatch said Schaefer is expected to be transferred soon to a rehabilitation facility but may be bedridden for up to two months. Hatch said Schaefer sustained serious injuries to his pelvis, his spleen and a knee, and initially was listed as critical. "I spoke to his parents, and they are not thrilled that he has been doing this," Hatch said. "I was told that he promised his surgeon he wouldn't do any more BASE jumping." Schaefer, identified by police as a U.S. Navy veteran who served aboard a submarine, declined an interview request, as did his family. Jon Tucker, of Springville, who was observing from the ground as Schaefer's official witness for the jump, could not be reached to comment. Authorities intend to file criminal trespass charges soon against both Schaefer and Tucker, according to Chief Deputy Richard T. Donovan. "(Schaefer) will additionally be charged with criminal mischief, because he had to break a lock on a gate to enter the area where the tower is located," Donovan said. "The (WIVB) people put a fence around their property to protect it from just this kind of thing." Investigators are still trying to determine exactly what happened to Schaefer and his parachute. They believe that either Schaefer or his parachute struck a guide [sic] wire shortly after he jumped off the tower. "The parachute did open, but obviously not enough to prevent him from being seriously injured," Hatch said. BASE jumping experts estimated that at least 54 jumpers have died while engaging in the sport over the past 25 years, but supporters argue that it is no more dangerous than automobile racing, motorcycle racing or other high-risk sports (via Fred Vobbe, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. BELFAST, MAINE - SITE OF EARLY BROADCAST STATION From: Belfast Republican Journal, ME http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1466&dept_id=182766&newsid=8228969&PAG=461&rfi=9 RADIO ARCHAELOGY by Dave Piszcz June 05, 2003 BELFAST [Maine] - Amateur historians and radio buffs have uncovered evidence pointing to the city's important place in the history of telecommunications. A 400-acre parcel of land, including a site on Congress Street and the original Armory building, was home to two massive Beverage Wave Antenna systems and a Radio Corporation of America (RCA) shortwave relay station, according to Harold Nelson of Newport and Bruce Clark of Belfast. The pair, in concert with Belfast Historical Society, is looking for artifacts and photographs related to the installation. In March 1925, the Belfast station received and relayed the first trans-Atlantic broadcast by the British Broadcasting Company (BBC). According to an old recording of the broadcast, the program featured an English dance band playing a number called "Alabamy Bound," amid dense static, from station "5XX, Daventry, the High Power Station of the British Broadcasting Company." The Belfast station received the program on the Beverage antenna via long wave signal, and rebroadcast it by shortwave to WJZ in New York and WRC in Washington, D.C. It was the first time American radio listeners had ever heard live music from across the Atlantic. At that point, most radio transmissions consisted of the dots and dashes of Morse code, rather than audio signals, so the broadcast of music was a major event. "This technology was evolving as fast as computers today," said Nelson. Coded messages were relayed from Europe or from ocean liners and relayed to telegraph facilities in New York. The original wireless station was known by the call sign 1XR and was licensed in 1920 to the International Radio Telegraph Company as a ship-to-shore communications device. The entire outfit, including 400 acres of land, was sold to RCA in September 1921, becoming station 1XAO. Radio experiments began in 1923. A three-story brick building, now part of Belfast Armory, was constructed around 1926, to house the control room and staff quarters. The May 5, 1927, edition of the Journal reported the new station was "of brick and concrete construction, entirely fireproof and certainly the last word in receiving station design." The building held 12 long wave receivers and 16 separate radio telegraph channels, and operated with its own power plant and water system. "To handle the volume of traffic going through the Belfast station alone, including radiograms from Norway, Sweden, Great Britain, Germany, France, Holland, Poland and Italy requires a permanent staff of ten men," the Journal noted. Part of the reason the station required so much land was the need to construct Beverage antennas to capture signals from England and South America. The technology was named for its inventor, Harold Henry Beverage, born in North Haven in 1893. He graduated from the University of Maine in 1915. He worked first with General Electric in 1916 and a few years later, joined RCA. Beverage designed an antenna system at Otter Cliffs on Mount Desert, which picked up the first word that the Armistice had been signed, ending World War I. He went on to become chief research engineer for RCA and died at the ripe old age of 99, in January 1993. Nelson and Clark believe there were two Beverage antennas, which consisted of two parallel lines of utility poles carrying a pair of wires, set out in a V-shaped pattern and generally aimed in the direction of the incoming signal. Nelson believes a 14-mile-long Beverage antenna stretched from Belfast to Monroe, aimed at South America. Clark speculates a second Beverage line, probably the one that captured the historic trans-Atlantic broadcast of 1926, stretched from Congress Street across Route 52 to Dog Island on Little River. The other end of the antenna ran down the hill toward the city center. Some of the old poles were still standing in the 1940s, Clark said. Few traces remain today. "They looked different from the electric poles and they went in the wrong direction," said Clark. Old aerial photos have revealed what may have been the path of one of the Beverage systems. The Nelson-Clark expedition is seeking photos and artifacts such as wires or insulators, once part of the antenna systems. Long wave technology proved unsuitable for commercial uses, being replaced by shortwave, and, for the Golden Age of Radio, by Amplitude Modulation (AM), and later Frequency Modulation (FM) signals. The operation was closed down in October 1929 and apparently abandoned until 1941, when the city purchased the land and the building for about $5,000. Belfast Airport was also being built that year, spurred on by rising concern over the war in Europe. The city deeded the property to the state for the purpose of building an armory on the site. Belfast's place in the development of wireless technology faded into the mists of history, until the Nelson-Clark expedition this year. Persons with any information, documentation, photographs, artifacts or knowledge of station 1XAO are encouraged to contact Megan Pinette at Belfast Museum at 338-9229. ©The Republican Journal 2003 (via Alan Pennington, UK, June 5; Kim Elliott, DC, June 6, DXLD) ** U S A. ENFORCEMENT: LOCAL CHARGES FILED AGAINST OHIO CB OPERATOR Complaints from a group of neighbors experiencing interference on household appliances from phones and TV sets to baby monitors have resulted in a court case against a citizens band radio operator. http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/news/stories/20030521/localnews/339596.html (via N6RU, Amateur Radio Newsline June 6 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. FILLING IN FOR TEXACO AT THE MET Friday, June 6, 2003; Page A26 Richard Cohen hopes that another company will "take up the slack" and replace Texaco -- rather, ChevronTexaco -- as sponsor of the radio broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera [op-ed, May 27]. He implied that it is some corporation's duty, that it could "say to its stockholders that it owes something to the public." What he doesn't say is that it might be a good public relations investment, as it was for Texaco in 1940. One year before the United States entered World War II, the press was reporting on Texaco's alleged undercover sales of oil to Nazi Germany. Texaco then removed its board chairman and, apparently to foster a proper public image as the country headed toward war with the Axis, decided to sponsor the weekly Saturday afternoon broadcasts. That started the longest-running sponsorship in the history of American radio. The first program with Texaco as sole sponsor was on Dec. 7, 1940, one year before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Given the apparent motivation for Texaco's sponsorship -- fostering a noble image in the face of growing negativity in the minds of public -- the list of companies Mr. Cohen might have mentioned as potential successors for Met sponsorship is lengthy indeed, beginning with Enron, WorldCom (now MCI), Arthur Andersen and Halliburton. JOHN C. CAMPBELL, Washington Bravo to Richard Cohen for his piece on Texaco dropping the Metropolitan Opera Saturday afternoon broadcasts. I too was exposed to these broadcasts at an early age, and they resulted in my lifelong enjoyment of opera. It is a sad commentary on the state of culture in this country when almost four times as many people watch "American Idol" as listen to the Met. I fear our children and grandchildren will be deprived of so much that is beautiful in what we refer to as the classics. I doubt that New Yorkers will give up on the Met soon, but the Texaco broadcasts served the country. The relative pittance it costs Texaco for the broadcasts surely could be justified as a continuing contribution to our cultural preservation, particularly in light of the obscene levels of compensation corporation chiefs are given nowadays. I hope that Texaco reconsiders or that a corporation such as GE ("We bring good things to life") or someone such as Bill Gates or Warren Buffett takes up the baton. WALTER KIDDE II, Hobe Sound, Fla. (c) 2003 The Washington Post Company (letters to the editor via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. Thanks to tip from Lynn Hollerman, WJNT 1180 Jackson MS DX test heard here, June 6 at 0529 UT with slow Morse IDs several times, and voice ID as WJNT, Pearl-Jackson, CNN news on half hour. Earlier had been hearing the unmistakably boring tones of Bruce Williams. More or less dominated the frequency with 50 kW non direxional but quite a bit of Spanish and other QRM (Glenn Hauser, Enid, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UZBEKISTAN. With the help provided by Magsum Galimov (Bugulma, Tatarstan, Russia) I've got to know all translations of Uzbek Radio programs' names. 1. O'zbekiston - Uzbekistan 2. Yoshlar - Youth 3. Mash'al - Flame 4. Do'stlik - Friendship (Dmitri Mezin, Signal Ed., June 5 via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. Hi Glenn, For some reason African stations in tropical bands propagate exceptionally well here in Nordic countries. SW R Africa 4880 kHz around 18 UT has been offering the strongest signal from African continent this week. I`ve been several times on vacation in Canary Islands off the coast of Morocco. Signals from Afrostations are always stronger in Finland than in the Canary Islands (Spain). My travel receiver is Sony ICF-7600G. SW R Africa easily heard even with Sony. It´s only about a week to our five week summer vacation. In October our destination will be Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, what you write (in 3-099) is extremely true. I know the problem is right there, what is needed is the knowledge about the transmitter site. Then we could do better. I think that that kind of info is forbidden for them to give out, by the contract that SW Radio Africa most probably has underwritten with the distributors to get the transmissions going out at all. As my letter (report) to them reveals, I was moved and also infuriated at the same time. I leave all the technical matters to people who know, and let's presume that it is indeed Meyerton on 4880, and they should move to the 90 mb ? How the hell can I, a mere stupid owner and user of an AOR AR7030, convince them ? I wish I knew. 73 (Johan Berglund, Trollhättan, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Uncle Glenn, 4880 Radio Africa. Transmitter site is Meyerton, 100 kW, azimuth 005 degrees, to CIRAF 57N, 1600-1900, brokered through Merlin- VT As monitored here in Melbourne, there is a problem with the co- channel "German Numbers" station! (Bob Padula, Victoria, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ UPCOMING JAVARADIO TUCSON Javaradio is planning addition of web radios in Tucson (Arizona), Hong Kong, and Prague soon. Prague was formerly a member of the network but has been offline several months. Javaradio url is http://www.javaradio.com/ (Bradford Wall, San Bernardino, California, USA, June 6, EDXP HF Forum via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ BROADBAND OVER POWER LINES CLOSER TO REALITY Utilities testing another option to deliver Internet. By Jennifer MearsNetwork World, 06/02/03 http://www.nwfusion.com/news/2003/0602carrspecialfocus.html The 16 police officers in Ossining, N.Y., have an always-on connection to the townspeople. In an effort to step up community policing, Chief Kenneth Donato has instituted a program that calls for his officers to personally meet all 5,500 of the town's residents. "The officers have personal business cards, and the cards have e-mail addresses," Donato says. "We're encouraging residents to communicate with us via e-mail." A year ago, such a program would have been difficult to undertake. Until six months ago, the department's only connection to the Internet was a dial-up connection. "It was painful; painful, to say the least," Donato says. Today, the department has a high-speed, always-on connection. And it's getting it through its power company. The department is part of a field trial that Consolidated Edison, an investor-owned utility that serves more than 3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, N.Y., has been running for about a year to deliver broadband via its electrical distribution network. And it's not alone: power line communication (PLC) is being tested in a dozen states in field trials conducted by utilities such as Pepco in Washington, D.C., Ameren in St. Louis and Pennsylvania Power & Light. The idea of moving data over electrical wires is nothing new. Utility companies have used low-frequency signals sent across their networks to remotely manage equipment and monitor power distribution for years. In the 1990s, companies such as Nortel and Siemens recognized the broadband potential and launched initiatives to send IP packets over power grids. But technology at the time faced hurdles. For example, to transmit data along noisy electric lines, the signals had to be turned up so high that it interfered with emissions from other devices such as radios and military equipment. Troubles like that, however, largely have been addressed, and the technology continues to mature. Today, companies such as Ambient, which also is conducting the field test with Con Edison, Amperion, Current Technologies, and Main.net, have developed technology to move bits across medium- and low-voltage lines. "It's like Wi-Fi three years ago when Wi-Fi was nothing. Now all of a sudden it has become pervasive," says Leif Ericson, manager of business development at Southern Telecom, a subsidiary of Southern Company that provides long-haul and metropolitan dark fiber. "The jury is still out as to whether this will be commercial or not. But we say it's moving in the right direction." Southern Telecom is conducting a field trial with Ambient in Alabama and recently announced plans to launch another trial with Main.net in Atlanta. "You have different models of deployment, and you also have different technologies," says Alan Shark, president of the Power Line Communications Association. "The technology is there. The question then becomes: Which technology?" PLC is a last-mile technology. Data is handed off from a fiber-optic or T-1 line, for example, and injected into a medium-voltage line. In the past, the hurdle for PLC, and the point at which technologies most greatly differ, has been what happens when those signals reach the transformer that converts medium volts into the low volts that are sent into homes and businesses. Amperion uses Wi-Fi to go directly into homes, avoiding transformers and the low-voltage lines altogether. A broadband connection then is accessed through a Wi-Fi hookup. The others either go around a transformer or through it, sending IP packets onto low-voltage lines and then directly to power outlets. The connection is accessed via a standard HomePlug-certified device that plugs into a wall. The HomePlug Alliance has created a standard for in-home networking using power lines. Providers claim throughput speeds of between 500K and 3M bit/sec, on par with DSL and cable, but say they can sell the service for $30 per month, less than the $50 per month that DSL and cable users typically pay. As a result, PLC - or broadband over power line, as the FCC refers to it - is getting more attention as a possible third pipe to deliver broadband access to homes and businesses. The allure of PLC is that the infrastructure is already there - any site with power outlets could be hooked up to a broadband connection. "It lends itself to what people are hoping to find, and that's a cheap solution without having to do anything different to the wiring in the house or business," says Kathie Hackler, vice president and telecom analyst at Gartner. "And it's getting a lot of interest now because there is so much focus on broadband, both from consumers and from the industry looking at this as something that's going to perk up the communications sector." FCC Chairman Michael Powell was impressed by what he saw when he got a demonstration of the technology in the Current Technologies/Pepco trial in Potomac, Md. "This is within striking distance of being the third major broadband pipe into the home," he told reporters. Observers say such a strike could happen soon. First commercial deployments are expected in the next few months, and that could unleash a rush, they say. "Utility companies are watching to see how those commercializations go. If they're successful, I think you'll see a lot of the utility companies adopt it and this thing will take off," says Brett Kilbourne, director of regulatory services for the United Telecom Council, an IT trade association for electric, gas and other critical infrastructure firms. However, regulatory issues still must be cleared up, Kilbourne says. The FCC is reviewing whether regulations need to be modified to oversee PLC. In April, the commission unanimously approved a notice of inquiry seeking public comment on the technology. Public utilities commissions at the state level also are looking at how this new service should be regulated. The focus is to ensure that regulatory issues don't sidetrack adoption. The FCC's notice of inquiry "explores ways to update our rules to ensure that regulatory uncertainty does not in any way hinder the deployment of these new services," Powell said in a statement. "Ultimately, it will be for the marketplace to decide how broadband over power lines fits into tomorrow's competitive telecommunications landscape, but we welcome them to the frontier of the digital migration." Another issue, analysts say, is how the utilities will deliver the service. At this point, utilities are cautious, but if the technology is proven they might end up wholesaling the service to ISPs. For instance, Con Edison doubts it will become an ISP, but recognizes that wholesaling the service could be "another source of revenue for us," says George Jee, director of resource planning. ISPs are watching the technology closely. AT&T and EarthLink, for example, are looking at PLC as a broadband connection into their networks. "We are closer to commercial reality with PLC than we've ever been," says Seth Libby, a senior analyst at The Yankee Group. "But we're not out of the woods yet. We need to get out there and show that it works." However the technology ultimately is delivered, users seem ready to give it a try. Donato of the Ossining police says PLC will be on his list along with T-1, cable and DSL when the department's PLC trial ends. "You can be anyplace and just plug in," he says. "You can't beat the versatility - you're not restricted to one corner of the room where the phone line is coming or the cable line is coming in. You just pick up your computer and plug it in anywhere, and there you are." Powered upUse of electrical lines for broadband moves closer to commercial reality. Advantages: Challenges: [mixed together here, it seems; don`t dare say ``Disadvantages`` !!] • Established infrastructure eliminates need to run cable or DSL into homes or businesses. • Utilities are cautious and moving into this area slowly as revenue-generating details remain unclear. • Lower prices than other broadband options are possible because that infrastructure is already in place. • DSL and cable users will likely be slow to switch to an untested service unless the price is much lower. • Technology has matured to where it’s ready for deployment. • Experts question whether the tech-nology will work on all power lines. • Backing from the FCC should help ensure regulations don't get in the way. • Utilities need to decide whether they want to be in the broadband business or if they plan to partner with ISPs. • In addition to commercial service, utilities can use broadband over power lines to better manage electric grids. • Utilities must arrange backhaul net-works to hook in to the Internet. Copyright 2001 Network World, Inc. All rights reserved (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) Have they really got the problem of interfering with radio reception licked, as claimed???? Surely not at weak-signal levels (gh) DRM +++ VOICE OF AMERICA TO JOIN DRM`S INAUGURAL BROADCASTS ON JUNE 16, 2003 Geneva – The International Broadcasting Bureau/Voice of America (IBB/VOA) will commence its live, daily Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) broadcasts on June 16th, 2003. Its transmissions in Arabic into Western Europe will debut in conjunction with DRM`s Inaugural Broadcasts event in Geneva, during the International Telecommunications Union’s (ITU) World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC 2003). The precise moment of the world’s first DRM broadcasts will be marked at a spectacular reception at Geneva’s Château de Penthes. "We are thrilled to be contributing to the launching of DRM that is synchronized with the ITU-R's WRC 03 in Geneva,`` says the IBB's Dr. Don Messer, who is DRM's Technical Committee Chairman. “As the U.S. government's chief delegate on the agenda items for short-wave and medium-wave/AM regulatory matters, I am certain that these DRM broadcasts from several broadcasters will be of great assistance in promoting the views of the broadcast community at the Conference." (DRM press release via Siriol Jane Evans, June 5, DXLD) Details? PROPAGATION +++++++++++ PROPAGATION REPORT Solar flare activity has been quite high over the past week with the sun appearing to return from a fairly quiet period with a vengeance. A shock in the solar wind speed was noted around 1530 UT May 30 from a coronal mass ejection, things calmed a bit on Jun 1 before picking up again on Jun 2-4. All this has meant a number of fadeouts, and fair to poor HF conditions over mid and high latitude paths. Conditions are expected to remain disturbed 5-9 Jun before becoming quieter - the timing of this is bound to be because I am on a DX pedition returning Jun 9 :-( Prepared using data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Richard Jary, SA, June 6, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ###