On Sunday, July 30, Pakistan’s Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Marriyum Aurangzeb, launched the installation project of a 1000-kilowatt Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) digital transmitter at HPT complex, Rawat, Rawalpindi, at a cost of 0.4 billion Pakistani rupees.
She said the groundbreaking initiative, set to be completed within two years, marked a significant milestone in the Radio Pakistan’s history and would revolutionize broadcasting capabilities. She termed DRM Technology as inevitable to meet the needs of modern broadcasting as analogue and shortwave technology become obsoleted.
This will increase the signal strength and coverage area of Radio Pakistan’s broadcasts to 52 countries in Central Asia, Middle East, Far East and eastern Europe, in addition to south Asia. Among the countries which would benefit from Radio Pakistan’s DRM broadcasts are Nepal, Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Iran, UAE, Qatar, Turkmenistan, and others.
Aurangzeb, who announced the project and its support by the government at the beginning of July already, underlined that the modern transmitter, based on DRM technology, will be able to transmit up to four different signals simultaneously. The minister said the new transmitter would thus enable dissemination of vital emergency information to all citizens during natural calamities.
The sound quality of Radio Pakistan’s broadcasts would also be substantially improved, enhancing the overall listening experience for audiences. In addition, the use of the DRM technology would achieve significant cost savings for Radio Pakistan, with an estimated 33 percent reduction in electricity consumption.
The Minister congratulated the whole nation on the launch of this complex project and appreciated the hard work the Director General Radio Pakistan and of all officials who put in their efforts to start it.
She stressed that the Government’ decision to digitise Radio Pakistan after 75 years had been lauded by the international DRM Consortium. The inauguration is part of phase 1 of a three-phase DRM digitisation plan of the country’s public broadcaster; in effect, this signifies that Pakistan has embraced the DRM standard in all bands for the whole country. She also asked the Director General of Radio Pakistan to complete the project within one year, ahead of the two years stipulated time.