From the Radio World “Who’s Buying What” page: In Nairobi, Kenya, Radio 47 — part of Cape Media — is using Lawo equipment to power Africa’s first fully IP-based, automated hybrid broadcast facility.
The Radio 47 network broadcasts in Swahili and is heard on 26 different FM frequencies in the country, including on 103.0 from Nairobi. Kenya’s capital city is said to be a rising technology hub of East Africa, and Cape Media Chairman Simon Gisharu said its aim was a broadcast setup that reflected the future of African media.
The project was planned and executed by Lawo’s regional partner, MediaCity Ads, based in Rwanda, which specializes in IP broadcast systems.
A release said the Radio 47 facility integrates radio, television, streaming and remote production into a unified system. It uses technology from Lawo, MultiCam Systems, AVT Audio Video Technologies, Voceware, Cleanfeed, Genelec, Telos Alliance, PTZ Optics and OptiSign.
Radio 47’s IP-native broadcast infrastructure uses Lawo’s crystal broadcast consoles, the Power Core DSP engine and Ravenna/AES67-based AoIP networking.
Each of the station’s three new on-air studios is equipped with a Lawo crystal console, networked to a centralized Lawo Power Core. The Power Core serves as the mixing engine, providing DSP processing and enabling multiple studio operations to be managed from one location.
Cape Media noted that the Power Core’s modular I/O cards — which support analog, AES3, Dante and MADI formats — were important to future-proofing the investment and supporting external sources and outside broadcast workflows.
The system also uses Lawo’s VisTool GUI software, which provides a touchscreen interface for control and visualization of sources, meters and routing.
All of Radio 47’s studios, edit rooms and control points are connected via an AES67-compliant IP backbone with full support for Ravenna networking.
“This project proves that world-class broadcast infrastructure doesn’t have to come from outside Africa,” said Jesse Maxella, CEO of MediaCity Ads.
