Radio Pakistan has installed a 500 kW transmitter to increase the reach of its medium-wave broadcasts on 585 kHz. The efforts also included studio renovations at the national broadcasting house.
Under the project, a 38-year-old medium wave transmitter at Faqeerabad was replaced with a new transmitter, based on digital technology. Five studios and a master control room at National Broadcasting House were also digitized.
According to a release, the project’s objective was to “rehabilitate dying medium-wave service of Radio Pakistan Islamabad for effective coverage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA, Punjab and Gilgit-Balitstan.”
Programs in languages including Urdu, Punjabi, Potohari, Hindko, Pushto, Shina and Balti will now broadcast over a 500 km radius, as compared with the previous 70 km. It can also be heard for up to 1,200 km at night.
Pakistan Broadcasting Corp. says Japan provided financial and technical grants for the project. The installations were completed Dec. 4 when PBC Director General Samina Parvez and Kiyofusa Tanaka, department manager of Yachiyo Engineering, signed the documents.
Parvez also thanked the Japanese government for its help in strengthening the PBC signal and modernizing its broadcasting system.
