BBC 'must invest to guard against jamming by China and Iran'

It would be 'astonishing' if broadcasts continue to be blocked because BBC fails to spend money to protect them, says House of Commons committee

The MPs’ report will stress how Iran and China make immense efforts to jam the BBC Photo: AP
daily telegraph

By David Blair

6:30AM BST 17 Oct 2013

The BBC should invest in protecting its global news service from being jammed by countries like Iran and China, the Foreign Affairs select committee will say on Thursday.

The MPs’ report will stress how Iran and China make immense efforts to jam the BBC. The former obstructs the BBC Persian news channel; the latter blocks BBC World Service broadcasts in Mandarin. Since February, China has also “intensively jammed” the BBC World Service in English.

Iran and China also try to block access to BBC news websites. “The BBC needs to think sooner rather than later about what scale of investment will be needed in order to preserve open access to its internet-based services for international audiences,” say the MPs. New technology can protect satellite and radio services from being jammed.

”The BBC World Service makes a huge contribution to the projection of the UK, its values and strengths, across the world. It would be astonishing if that work were to be diminished purely because the BBC lacked the resources to protect its broadcasts from interference,” says the report. The MPs urge the BBC to “provide the resources necessary to afford that protection”.

Daily News

Al Jazeera accuses armed forces of jamming satellite signals

Joel Gulhane  /   September 4, 2013  /   0 Comments   /   228 Views

The Qatari based news network identifies four locations where it believes jamming signals are being broadcast

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Al Jazeera has accused the armed forces of interfering with its satellite broadcasting signals in Egypt.
(AFP Photo)

Al Jazeera has accused the armed forces of interfering with its satellite broadcasting signals in Egypt.
The Qatar based news agency, citing a “panel of experts” on Tuesday, claims to have identified four locations where it believes satellite jamming signals are being broadcast from. In a report on its English language channel presenter Sami Zeidan said, “It is clear the common link in all of these locations is the presence of military facilities.” Al Jazeera also refused to name its correspondent reporting from Cairo via telephone, citing security reasons.
In its report Al Jazeera showed a map of Cairo and the surrounding area identifying two locations on the Cairo-Suez road, one on the Cairo-Alexandria road and one in Heliopolis. Zeidan’s report states that the panel of experts believe the jamming signal location is accurate to a 1.6km area. In all four locations shown on the map the report shows armed forces installation within the 1.6km radius.
Al Jazeera reported that it “has been forced to change frequencies several times to allow viewers to continue to watch the network’s news and sport channels.”
The network says it has been targeted by the Egyptian authorities since the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi at the beginning of July.
The Administrative Court of the State Council ruled on Tuesday to close Al-Jazeera Mubasher Misr, the network’s channel for Egypt. The judge in the case said the decision to close the channel along with three Islamist channels was made due to the channels’ “dissemination of rumours and false, misleading news, which might cause strife in the community between citizens and panic among them.”
Three foreign Al-Jazeera reporters were deported by the Egyptian authorities last Sunday having been held without charge for five days before being forced to leave the country.
The offices of Al Jazeera Mubasher Misr were raided by security forces towards the end of August and broadcasting equipment was confiscated.
Al Jazeera denies any accusation that it is bias and “says it carries no torch for any political party,” according to the network’s report.

Egypt accused of jamming al-Jazeera

Broadcaster says it has pinpointed four different sources of jamming after commissioning an interference detection company

• theguardian.com, Monday 2 September 2013 16.54 BST

Al-Jazeera claims it has pinpointed four locations where the Egyptian government is jamming its signals. Photograph: Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images

The Egyptian government has been accused of jamming the signal of al-Jazeera, the pan-Arabic news channel, for the past seven weeks.
It has also been blamed for blocking the broadcaster from sending out raw TV feeds on the Egyptian crisis to other broadcasters.
The Qatar-based channel's head of teleport, Ibrahim Nassar, told MediaGuardian it has pinpointed four different locations for the source of jamming after commissioning an interference detection company, Integral Systems Europe, to investigate the problem. Three of these were east of Cairo and one was in the desert west of the capital.
Nassar said its Egyptian service, al-Jazeera Mubasher, had been subjected to jamming every day between the hours of 7am and midnight since 5 July. It broadcasts on the Egyptian-owned Nilesat satellite.
The second operation, providing broadcasters with TV feeds, is fed through a satellite owned by the Arab League countries, Arabsat, and has also been subjected to interference, although the last record of jamming was on 7 August.
"There is a big campaign against us even in the Egyptian media," said Nassar. He said the broadcaster will appeal to the Egyptian authorities to stop blocking its TV feeds on Arabsat through the International Telecommunications Union but that usually this process is not enough.
Al-Jazeera believes the blocking of its signal in Egypt is part of a concerted campaign to close it down, which includes the arrest of reporters and cameraman working for the broadcaster in Cairo.
The Egyptian government hit back, saying if al-Jazeera had any evidence that the government was blocking its services, it should make a formal complaint to Cairo.
It also denied targeting the station, and accused it of stoking anti-government sentiment with pro-Muslim Brotherhood policies.
"We have had hundreds of claims that they are inciting people, they are misleading them and fabricating reports. They put cameras in Tahrir Square and exaggerated the number of protestors; they invited biased guests on and insult millions of Egyptian people. They support the Muslim Brotherhood … they should judge themselves before they make these claims," said a spokeswoman at the Egyptian embassy in London.
Egyptian authorities deported three al-Jazeera journalists on Sunday, days after the channel carried appeals from leaders of ousted-president Mohamed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood to stage protests against the army-backed government.
Qatar was a strong financial backer of Brotherhood rule and opposes the army's overthrow of Morsi and the ensuing bloody crackdown on his movement.
Al-Jazeera's offices in Cairo have been closed since 3 July, when they were raided by security forces hours after Morsi was toppled, although the channel, broadcast from Qatar, can still be seen in Egypt. Security officials at Cairo airport said Wayne Hay, Adil Bradlow and Russ Finn were put on an Egyptian plane bound for London, after being forced to leave their equipment behind.
Last Thursday, Qatar Satellite Company launched its first satellite as part of a wider strategy to secure technical independence in the Middle East, but it will not be ready for broadcast use until December. The satellite is co-owned by Eutelsat, the European satellite operator, and will have the capacity to carry dozens of channels.
It is not the first time that al-Jazeera has fallen foul of the Egyptian authorities. In 2011, the government closed 16 satellite channels including al-Jazeera Mubasher, claiming the news channel "did not abide by Egyptian law and disregarded Egyptian sovereignty".

Opinion

Jamming in Azerbaijan: Foreign news outlets unable to broadcast

Three broadcasters appear to have been targeted for transmitting alternative news coverage into Azerbaijan. Last Modified: 09 Jul 2013 11:50

Rebecca Vincent Rebecca Vincent is an American-British human rights activist currently based in London. She is a former US diplomat and has worked with a wide range of international and Azerbaijani human rights and freedom of expression organisations.

Azerbaijan's president, Ilham Aliyev, has been clamping down on independent media outlets [AFP/Getty]

As Azerbaijan's October presidential election approaches, the authorities seem more determined than ever to restrict citizens' access to information through controlling the country's media, taking steps to limit Internet freedom, and making harsh examples of journalists who express critical opinions in order to keep the broader media community in line. Now, it appears that Azerbaijanis are also facing restrictions in accessing broadcast programmes from outside of the country. Several foreign outlets have noted deliberate broadcast interferences, known as jamming, and is a practice that violates both international telecommunications regulations and human rights law. The state has long dominated the broadcast media in Azerbaijan. Of the country's nine national television stations, three are directly owned by the state, and the six private stations are heavily influenced through the state's control over advertising revenues. The 12 national radio stations also fail to provide a plurality of programming. Azerbaijan criticised ahead of Eurovision The Institute for Reporters' Freedom and Safety has highlighted discrepancies with the allocation of broadcasting licenses, calling the procedure "highly political, biased, and non-transparent", preventing potentially critical media outlets from broadcasting within the country. Since January 2009, foreign broadcasters have been banned from accessing national frequencies in Azerbaijan, a move that took the Azerbaijani services of the BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and Voice of America off the air, effectively eliminating the only international sources of broadcast news in the country. As a result, many Azerbaijanis are exposed only to the state's version of events, which prioritises coverage of President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva's activities, idolizes the late former President - and father of the current President - Heydar Aliyev, and heavily skews or completely omits reporting on significant events with political implications, such as anti-government protests or trials of political prisoners. In the absence of independent broadcasting within the country, satellite broadcasts from outside the country have become increasingly important, providing citizens with valuable access to independent information and a rare glimpse of political views that differ from those of the ruling party. Reports of interference Since losing the ability to broadcast on national frequencies, RFE/RL has continued to disseminate Azerbaijani-language content online, and in a weekly news magazine programme broadcast into the country via satellite. But now this content is also under threat. On June 20, 2013, RFE/RL reported several instances of jamming with its satellite broadcast into Azerbaijan since Aprli 2013. In its press release on the disruption, RFE/RL stated, "the current interference has many of the characteristics of deliberate interference. It only occurs during programs in the Azerbaijani language. The interfering signal carries no content, indicating its sole purpose is to disrupt other programming. When the RFE/RL program moves to other channels and satellites, the interfering signal follows". After RFE/RL experienced disruption again during its broadcasts on June 29 and 30, RFE/RL's Deputy Director of Communications and External Relations, Joanna Levison, commented further on the matter. "We have experienced targeted interference with our satellite news programming to Azerbaijan that, now after 10 weeks, we have to conclude is deliberate. We have experienced numerous other kinds of attacks on our operations in Azerbaijan, including smear campaigns aimed at discrediting our reporters, to threats, physical attacks, and a government ban barring us from FM broadcasts in 2009. Jamming is a violation of international broadcast treaties, and it's a flagrant violation of international norms and standards governing media freedom. This interference with Azeri citizens' fundamental right to information must be stopped". RFE/RL is not the only entity to report recent interference with its broadcasting into Azerbaijan; both Meydan TV and Azerbaycan Saati ("Azerbaijan hour") have reported similar disruption. All three broadcasters appear to have been targeted for transmitting alternative news coverage into Azerbaijan. According to Emin Milli, Director of Meydan TV, the station has only been able to broadcast via satellite once, for the project's inaugural programme on May 15, 2013. Since that time, all subsequent attempts to broadcast have been unsuccessful due to technical difficulties that Milli attributes to jamming. Milli believes that the Azerbaijani authorities view Meydan TV's programming as a threat to their power. "The current situation in the country is so unstable, the authorities fear that even one hour per week of independent reporting could jeopardise their power", he said. Violations of international commitments The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), of which Azerbaijan is a member, prohibits jamming, as stipulated in Article 45 of the ITU's Constitution and Article 15 of the ITU's Radio Regulations. The US-backed Broadcasting Board of Governors, along with a number of prominent international broadcasters, recently issued a statement that expressed concern over growing global reports of satellite jamming and emphasised that "Media freedom has not faced such a concerted campaign of disruption since the end of the Cold War". In Azerbaijan, pro-democracy advocates face major challenges The European Broadcasting Union has also repeatedly come on record on the issue and wrote condemning reports of jamming originating in Syria and Iran throughout 2012. Jamming is also considered as a violation of the right to freedom of expression, which Azerbaijan has committed to respect and protect through its ratification of major international and regional treaties including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the European Convention on Human Rights. As ARTICLE 19 points out, deliberate jamming "interferes with both the rights of individuals and broadcasters to receive and impart information". In addition to violations of ITU regulations and international human rights law, disruptions of satellite broadcasts of independent news coverage in Azerbaijan negatively impacts the chances of October's presidential election being conducted in accordance with international democratic standards. If citizens have no access to information about the true state of affairs in their country and are not exposed to a plurality of political opinions, the electoral process cannot be considered free and fair. The international response So far, the international community has remained largely silent on the issue, although the US State Department acknowledged the reports, stating: "We have seen reports that RFE/RL and other outlets have encountered difficulties broadcasting satellite programming into Azerbaijan…the United States strongly supports media freedom and freedom of expression in Azerbaijan". Indeed, RFE/RL - along with Meydan TV and Azerbaycan Saati - provides valuable reporting on current events in Azerbaijan, filling significant gaps in the news coverage available from national broadcasters. The reported disruption to their broadcasting is a serious negative development that should be urgently addressed by international organisations and democratic countries with relations with Azerbaijan, starting by pressing the ITU to investigate the reported interference and take action to address any violations. But perhaps the possibility that the Azerbaijani government is once again defying its international obligations and using new tactics to silence its critics is simply one more inconvenient truth, another in a long list of issues that will be wilfully ignored to avoid disrupting energy and security relations with an increasingly repressive regime. Rebecca Vincent is an American-British human rights activist currently based in London. She is a former US diplomat and has worked with a wide range of international and Azerbaijani human rights and freedom of expression organisations. Follow her on Twitter:  @rebecca_vincent The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial policy.

Source: Al Jazeera

china jams voa,bbc's african services

 DX LISTENING DIGEST 13-25, June 20, 2013
       Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING
       edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com

** CHINA. 13970, CNR-1, June 12, 1030. Very solid with noted //s on 
17080, 16920, 16360, 16100 (Rick Barton, Arizona, Hammarlund HQ-200, 
Drake R8; Random Wire and Slinky, ABDX via DXLD)

Firedrake June 13:
13795, poor at 1223 with CCI, and still at 1311

CNR1 jamming, June 13:
15540, poor at 1308, het on hi side
15550, poor at 1353 // 11785, het on lo side
15610, poor under WEWN, but // 11785
15800, good at 1221
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

13740, CNR-1, June 14, 1030. Firedrake music crashing and banging over 
background on CNR-1 programming in Chinese. VG. Heard // CNR 
transmissions, but sans Firedrake music, on: 16920, 16100, 13850, 
13820.

13740, Firedrake Music, June 15, 1045. Crash-boom-bang. No //s heard. 
Noted CNR-1 on Firedrake frequency 16100 (Rick Barton, Arizona, 
Hammarlund HQ-200, Drake R8; Random Wire and Slinky, ABDX via DXLD)

Firedrake jamming, June 15:
12100, fair at 1234 vs CODAR. New frequency! Nothing at all in Aoki to 
account for this, not even a 100-watt SOH listing
13795, fair at 1242 and // 12100

CNR1 jammers instead of Firedrake, June 15:
11500, poor at 1237; not synchronized with 11785, 11825; none in 12s
13970, good at 1241
14700, good at 1244 with hets, local?
15800, good at 1244, also 1300 timesignal and modulation stops but 
carrier on until 1301:15* or so
16920, poor at 1245; none in the 17s
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

15100, Firedrake Music Jammer. June 15, 1530. Strong with banging and 
booming. No //s heard, nor any unusual CNR stations on typical 
Firedrake frequencies. Also heard on recheck at 1710 with VG signals. 
Surprised to hear it so soon after the hour (Rick Barton, Arizona, 
Hammarlund HQ-200, Drake R8; Random Wire and Slinky, ABDX via DXLD)

15100, 15/Jun 1715, Firedrake with weak signal in my QTH, but good in 
SDR Twente (Jorge Freitas, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 12 14ｴS 38 58ｴW - 
Brasil, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST)

Against Voice of America in Uzbek:
1500-1530 on 15100 KWT 250 kW / 046 deg to CeAs Tue/Sat
Chinese technicians may already be sleeping (Ivo Ivanov, ibid.)

Firedrake June 16:
13795, fair at 1245 and still at 1331

Non-Firedrake CNR1 jamming June 16:
14700, very good at 1246 but none in the 12s, 13s or 15s. Off at 1331
16920, fair at 1251
17080, very poor at 1253 with flutter, // 14700
17450, very poor at 1253 with flutter; none in the 18s

Firedrake June 17:
13795, poor at 1234

CNR1 jamming instead of Firedrake June 17:
13920, fair at 1234; none in the 12s
14700, fair at 1234 with flutter; none in the 15s, 16s or 17s

Firedrake June 18:
13795, poor at 1240, and very poor at 1321; only one audible, all the 
rest being CNR1 jammers instead:

After 1230 June 18:
None in the 17s, 16s, 15s or 14s at 1238
12500, very poor at 1241
12670, fair at 1241
12800, very poor at 1241
13530, fair at 1241

Before 1330 June 18:
12500, JBA at 1322
13530, poor at 1321 vs CODAR
13920, poor at 1320
14700, poor at 1320
14800, fair at 1320
15800, poor at 1318; none in the 16s
15970, poor at 1318
17250, fair at 1320
(Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGST)

[and non]. BBC & VOA English to Africa === The Aoki file posted today, 
June 18, includes many changes showing BBC and VOA English to Africa 
jammed by CNR1 and Firedrake (Dan Ferguson, 1546 UT June 18, NASWA yg 
via DXLD)

Checking 13 & 16m only so far in Aoki, following as*erisks, these are 
shown as jammed, all English (and sometimes skipping other languages):

VOA:
17895 1500-1830
17530 1400-1500

BBC:
17830 0700-0800, 1600-1800
17795 1700-2000
17640 0600-0800, 1600-1700

Please check today, still jammed? These are in addition to numerous 
broadcasts from VOA and BBC to Asia. Also AIR English:
17895 & 17510 at 1000-1100 are marked as jammed
(Glenn Hauser, OK, June 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

Saturday, June 22, 2013

RFE/RL Reports Interference With Its Signal To Azerbaijan

TEXT SIZE

June 20, 2013

RFE/RL has documented a pattern of disruption of its satellite news programming to Azerbaijan that could indicate a new level of deliberate interference, a practice known as jamming. The practice is a violation of international telecommunications regulations.

Since April 28, 2013, RFE/RL's weekly Azerbaijani language news magazine, broadcast to Azerbaijan on the Medya TV channel on a popular Turksat satellite from Turkey, has been interrupted with jittery images, distorted sound and static. On three successive weekends the show, "Different News" (Ferqli Kheberler), registered interference that began four to five minutes into programming and ended shortly after it concluded.

In an attempt to get around the interference, the show was subsequently placed on a different satellite and two other channels, Denge TV and Sivas SRT. On each occasion, engineers with the U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau documented electronic noise and distortion, most recently on June 16.

"Our broadcasts have been thwarted and our journalists have been targeted in numerous cases of harassment in recent years, leading us to suspect that this interference is a continuation, and indeed an escalation, of such acts," said Kevin Klose, RFE/RL Acting President and CEO. "These developments are serious, as they concern possible violations of well-established international treaties, not to mention international norms and standards regarding media freedom. They should be investigated by Azeri and international telecommunications authorities."

Klose added, "We will continue to monitor our programming and report our findings. We are dedicated to helping the people of Azerbaijan fully exercise their freedom to seek and impart information across borders, and to form opinions, free from interference."

We are dedicated to helping the people of Azerbaijan fully exercise their freedom to seek and impart information across borders, and to form opinions, free from interference.

Kevin Klose, RFE/RL Acting President
 

RFE/RL's news magazine belongs to a cluster of Azerbaijani language programs shown on Turksat, among which "Azerbaijani Hour" (Azarbaycan Saati), a program distributed by an opposition political party, has also reported repeated interference. At the end of its June 16 episode, which aired with a poor signal that at one point was lost entirely, the Sivas SRT anchor accused the Azeri government of jamming.

Ertogrul Akman, General Manager for Major Media, which handles placement of programs on Turkish media, called the interference "unprecedented" and told RFE/RL, "I have no doubt it's coming from Azerbaijan." He has appealed to Turksat to investigate as "we are now having difficulty placing the program [Different News], since it has experienced repeated interference which has affected other programs and created audience loss. The other companies are aware of this and don't want to risk damage" by carrying the program, he added.

RFE/RL's Azerbaijani language service was banned from local FM airwaves by Azeri authorities in 2009, a restriction that prompted the search for broadcast alternatives, including on satellite. Since then, the service's journalists have been the targets of defamation campaigns; abductions and death threats; arbitrary detentions; physical attacks and attempts to intimidate family members, none of which Azeri authorities have investigated. Earlier this month, President Ilham Aliyev signed into a law a bill criminalizing on-line defamation.

In its just-released annual Nations in Transit survey, Freedom House categorized Azerbaijan as a "Consolidated Authoritarian Regime" that is "characterized by intolerance for dissent and disregard for civil liberties and political rights." Reporters Without Borders ranked it 156 out of 179 countries surveyed in its 2013 Press Freedom Index.

The current interference has many of the characteristics of deliberate interference. It only occurs during programs in the Azerbaijani language. The interfering signal carries no content, indicating its sole purpose is to disrupt other programming. When the RFE/RL program moves to other channels and satellites, the interfering signal follows. Jamming, which was used for decades to disrupt shortwave broadcasts by Radio Free Europe and Radio liberty into the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact states, is prohibited under rules of the International Telecommunications Union -- of which Azerbaijan is a member.

For more information contact:
Joanna Levison
Deputy Director of Communications
Telephone: +420.602.612.705
Fax: +420.221.123.010
Email: levisonj@rferl.org

How South Korea communicates with spies in North Korea

“Attention number 521, attention number 521, Please receive a telegram.”

by Martyn Williams , May 10, 2013

     

   

Tune the shortwave radio bands around midnight and you’ll hear all sorts of signals in the air above the Korean peninsula. The late night hours are primetime for radio stations that target North Korea because its one of the few times of the day that prospective listeners can hide away in secret and listen to news and information from overseas.
But between the international broadcasters and static, there are other signals attracting a much smaller audience.
The most mysterious of these is only on the air for a few minutes each time, and the broadcasts come just a few times each night. If that’s not enough, the content of the programming is even stranger.
After a North Korean popular song, an announcer comes on and broadcasts a string of numbers. And then it shuts down.
“Attention number 521, attention number 521, Please receive a telegram.”
And then a string of numbers is read out.
It’s a so-called “numbers station.” They have been mysterious fixtures of the shortwave broadcasting bands since the cold war, sending strings of numbers that are widely believed to be coded messages for spies overseas.
This particular station has been dubbed “V24” by radio monitors that follow such broadcasts – they are still a relatively common method of communications – and it’s the only regular one on air in Korean.
Sending such messages over radio brings both advantages and disadvantages over other methods of communication.
On the down side, the radio broadcasts are one-way only. It’s not possible to send back a reply.
But on the up side, the broadcast can be received over a wide geographic area, so it doesn’t matter where someone is. And unlike other communication methods, like a drop of documents or a meeting, the only thing that has to be set up in advance is the time and frequency.
I’ve picked it up numerous times, both in South Korea, Japan and the western coast of the United States, but no one has probably done more monitoring than a user called “Token.”
Based in the Mohave Desert, Token has published the most authoritative schedule of V24 to date.
It shows V24 is on the air every day of the month and there are usually only three or four broadcasts each night, according to a schedule drawn up by a radio monitor in the U.S. When V24 does come on the air, it’s either on the hour or half hour in slots from 10pm to 1:30am local time.
It currently switches between four frequencies: 4900, 5115, 6215, 6310 kHz.
The broadcast begins with a song and the identity of the recipient, then numbers read in groups of three and two. For example: “238-89, 561-45, 573-22 …” and then the same numbers but in groups of two and three. For the example above, the second group would be: “23-889, 56-145, 57-322.”
The break between the five numbers is probably changed to improve readability in the case that the signal is bad.
Here’s a recording:
So, what’s going on here?
The numbers are, of course, the message that’s decoded by the agent in the field.
The decoding method might be a dedicated codebook or the numbers might point to letters in a real book – something that could sit on a shelf and draw no suspicion, but with the right knowledge could be used to unlock the code. For example, “238-89” might mean page 238, line 8, character 9.
But perhaps more interesting is the source of the broadcasts.
While a scratchy shortwave radio broadcast might seem likely from North Korea, most long-time number stations listeners think V24 is coming from South Korea, broadcasting to spies in the North.
The South Korean government has never confirmed this and there is little evidence to point either north or south, but the rationale is based on a few pieces of history.
The most convincing is that Radio Pyongyang, North Korea’s international shortwave broadcaster, used to transmit numbers during its programming. There wasn’t any doubt about the source of the transmissions, but monitors say they ended in December 2000.
And as far as circumstantial evidence, North Korea’s much tighter social controls hint that radio broadcasts might be a better way to route secret messages.
One other interesting thing about the broadcasts – while I have never heard it, occasionally listeners have reported hearing the Windows XP closedown sound right before the transmission goes off air.
While V24 transmits in speech, four times a month one of the same frequencies carries a similar transmission in morse code. The station, dubbed M94, is on the air at 11pm local time on the 10^th, 11^th, 26^th and 27^th on 5115 kHz.
Picture credit: Si’ilk...

Media freedom faces "greatest challenge since the Cold War"

Latest update: 06/05/2013 

- Press Release

Media freedom faces "greatest challenge since the Cold War" - 03/05/2013

A group of leading International broadcasters – gathered in the DG5 consortium – declared today that media freedom faces its greatest challenge since the Cold War with Internet blocking, satellite jamming and the return of shortwave jamming.

 

The statement issued on behalf of the representatives of Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France (AEF), Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) [Australia], British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) [United Kingdom], Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) [US], Deutsche Welle (DW) [Germany], Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) [Japan] and Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW), said: “The jamming of satellite broadcasts has become a regular occurrence as regimes seek to block certain services from the being received. This jamming affects area stretching from Northern Europe to Afghanistan and as far south as Northern Africa. We have also seen internet blocking of services and cyber-attacks on media organisations of all over the world, shortwave jamming and disruption and interference with FM broadcasts. Media Freedom has not faced such a concerted campaign of disruption since the end of the Cold War. ”
The broadcasters called on all nations to recognise the legitimate role played by international broadcasts in offering free access to global media and coverage of events.
During the cold war the jamming of radio broadcasts to East of the Iron Curtain was common place. European and US broadcasters worked hard to overcome this in a game of cat and mouse. From the late 1990s digital satellite broadcasting has flourished delivering a wide range of programmes in many languages to communities across the globe. Audiences have been able to benefit from international broadcasts that provide a different perspective on news and cultures.
Increased satellite jamming of FRANCE 24 broadcasts to Iran and Syria stepped up significantly this year and this marks an unwelcome increase of the oldest method of interrupting programmes. The deliberate satellite interference is both extensive and powerful. This is contrary to the international regulations that govern TV satellite broadcasts. RFI’s shortwave broadcasts to Iran in Persian continue to be jammed intermittently, and access to RFI websites continue to be blocked in China.
The AEF is heavily involved in pooling resources with fellow broadcasters and lobbying the satellite industry to stop deliberate interference and achieve media freedom worldwide. This involves seeking both long term and short term technical solutions in order for our content to continue to be received during major political events and crises. Like all the other leading international broadcasters, we are working with the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) and other UN bodies to spread the word about the profound influence that jamming is having on audiences and the industry.
About DG5:
For fifteen years, the DG5 consortium meets once a year and gathers the presidents of the five major international media groups from the Western States (AEF, BBC, BBG, DW, RNW). NHK (Japan) and ABC (Australia) joined the group as observers in 2012. Meetings are also held several times a year between media experts to discuss the wave interferences, the Internet blocking, audience researches, strategies and international distribution.
Watch and listen to the world:
The group in charge of French international broadcasting services comprises three media: the trilingual news TV channel FRANCE 24, the international radio station RFI and the Arabic-language radio Monte Carlo Doualiya. From Paris, they broadcast to the world in 14 languages. The group’s journalists and its unique network of correspondents offer viewers and listeners comprehensive coverage of world events, with a focus on cultural diversity and contrasting viewpoints via news bulletins, reports, magazines and debates. The group has a combined weekly audience of over 90 million listeners and TV viewers and its new media platforms attract 25 million visits a month. The group is also a shareholder and partner of the French-language general interest TV channel TV5MONDE.

A world of shortwave jamming: China vs BBC, Iran vs Farda, Zimbabwe vs VOA, Vietnam vs RFA, Cuba vs WRMI.

A world of shortwave jamming: China vs BBC, Iran vs Farda, Zimbabwe vs VOA, Vietnam vs RFA, Cuba vs WRMI.

Posted: 09 Mar 2013   Print   Send a link

SoundCloud, 28 Feb 2013, Victoribbmonitor, Victor Goonetilleke, Colombo, Sri Lanka: "Jamming against BBC 17790. The clip starts with an 8 element log periodic beamed from Colombo to Aseela Oman and after 25 seconds the beam starts to move eastward and settles on 20 degrees East of North. BBC from the dominant signal drops to almost inaudible level and the jammer comes on top."

Reporters sans frontières, 28 Feb 2013: "Reporters Without Borders condemns the jamming of the BBC World Service’s English-language shortwave radio broadcasts in China. The BBC issued a statement on February 25th deploring this violation of freedom of information and suggesting that the Chinese government was to blame. 'We support the BBC and we urge it to file a legal complaint against persons unknown,' Reporters Without Borders said. 'We recently brought this kind of legal action before the French public prosecutor’s office in connection with acts of piracy targeting Radio Erena, a Paris-based Eritrean exile radio station that broadcasts by satellite to the Horn of Africa. We are convinced that this kind of legal initiative can help to shed light on the exact circumstances of such acts of piracy, that is to say, the place where the jamming originates and the identity of those responsible. We also urge the British authorities to complain to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which is a UN body. If it turns out that the Chinese authorities ordered the jamming, they must be called to account. It is illegal, it violates fundamental freedoms and it is detrimental to all those in China who speak English.'"

Radio Australia, 8 Mar 2013, Joanna McCarthy: "The Association for International Broadcasting says English-language broadcasts from Radio Australia, the BBC World Service and Voice of America are being deliberately jammed by a number of frequencies. The AIB has lodged protests about the jamming with Chinese embassies in Canberra, Washington DC and London." With audio interview. See also AIB, 6 Mar 2013. Also reported by Advanced Television, 6 Mar 2013 and The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Mar 2013, Patrick Brzeski.

SoundCloud, 8 Mar 2013, iw0hk, Andrea Borgnino, Italy: "Sweep jamming on Radio Farda - 15690 khz." SoundCloud, 8 Mar 2013, iw0hk, Andrea Borgnino, Italy: "Jamming on Voice of America for Zimbabwe - 15775 khz."

YouTube, 5 Mar 2013, OfficialSWL Channel, Gilles Letourneau, Montréal PQ: "Vietnam jamming Radio Free Asia broadcast on 15170 khz."

VOA Radiogram, 9 Mar 2013, "WRMI, Radio Miami International 9 March 2013, 22200 UTC, 9955 kHz, versus Cuban jamming." -- Cuba is jamming WRMI in general, because of its occasional anti-Castro programming, and probably not because of The Overcomer program (in English) that was on at the time. Here's how an ID in the the MT63-2000 mode, transmitted at that time, prints out despite jamming:

Broadcast group condemns China over radio jamming

Broadcast group condemns China over radio jamming

Updated 8 March 2013, 12:02 AEST

An international broadcast association has condemned the deliberate jamming of shortwave broadcasts, including those from the ABC's Radio Australia service, into Asia. 

The Association for International Broadcasting says English-language broadcasts from Radio Australia, the BBC World Service and the Voice of America are being jammed.  (Credit: ABC) 

An international broadcast association has condemned the deliberate jamming of shortwave broadcasts, including those from the ABC's Radio Australia service, into Asia.
The Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) says English-language broadcasts from Radio Australia, the BBC World Service and the Voice of America are being jammed.
Chief Executive Simon Spanswick has told Radio Australia’s Connect Asia program research has indicated the jamming signals appear to be coming from within China.
"It appears to be quite wide," he said.
"We've been talking to some monitors who keep ears on the shortwave bands around Asia and they say that it's certainly audible well outside China.
"So, one imagines, even with the geographic scale of China itself, that this is right across the region."

Audio: Hear the Interference during a broadcast of the Asia Pacific program (ABC News)

The AIB says broadcasts in Mandarin from broadcasters including the BBC, Radio Free Asia and Voice of America have been interfered with for many years.
Mr Spanswick says while the methodology appears to be the same, this is the first time English-language services have been targeted.
"Essentially what you do if you're trying to stop people listening to a program on shortwave is you transmit another audio feed on the same frequency.
"What the Chinese have done for a long time is actually broadcast Chinese folk music...what's happening in this case is that they're transmitting a different sort of noise.
"The aim is to simply make it so uncomfortable to listen to that people switch off and don't bother trying to listen to the program that they wanted to get."
The AIB has lodged protests over the jamming with the Chinese embassies in Washington, London and Canberra.
Mr Spanswick says it's particularly concerning at a time when China is expanding its own international radio and television services.
"They're going global...and nobody is trying to stop them from making available information about what the Chinese Government wants the rest of the world to hear," he said.
"So there's go to be a level playing field...there's a universal right to fair and free information and freedom of speech.
"Jamming is simply so contrary to that sort of notion that it simply can't be allowed to continue."

Iran’s attacks on the BBC

Xindex

Iran’s attacks on the BBC

18 Feb 2013

Staff at the BBC’s Persian Service face satellite jamming, smear campaigns and intimidation, says World Service Director Peter Horrocks

Jamming broadcast signals is a threat to the vital flow of free information. Throughout its history the BBC World Service has countered the efforts of jammers, whether on shortwave or satellites. However, in the last four years there has been a sharp increase in jamming satellite signals around the world with several international broadcasters being targeted.
Intensive interference of our signals started in 2009 at the time of Iran’s presidential election. On Election Day, Iranian authorities started to jam signals of BBC Persian Television, launched only a few months before. Intensive jamming continued in the aftermath of the election during the street protests and violence. For many Iranians, whose access to free media was limited, Persian TV was the main source of news and information.
Since then, the jamming of BBC Persian has continued intermittently. Some incidents have been directly related to specific types of programmes such as audience participation, documentaries or coverage of news events. The latest example of jamming is as recent as 9 February this year when the Iranian government was marking the Islamic Revolution’s anniversary and PTV was taken off-air alongside 13 other broadcasters.
In response, we have increased the number of satellites carrying the channel and technical changes were made to help reduce jamming on the original signal. However, more work needs to be done.
To make any meaningful impact, there is a compelling need for all stakeholders to work closely together in different fields, from technical to regulatory and political, to address the issue of satellite jamming.
That’s why in November 2012 the BBC brought together over 100 delegates from broadcasters, regulators, satellite operators, international organisations and politicians to consider what political and technical steps can be taken to address the growing threat of the blocking of international broadcasts.
This was followed by a very useful event, organised by satellite operator Eutelsat in January 2013, to demonstrate how they geo-locate interference to satellites to provide evidence to the UN recognised agency, International Telecommunication Union. They also unveiled new developments in satellite design which offer more protection on the next generation of satellites. We are pleased to see that our efforts of working closely with the satellite industry have contributed to Eutelsat’s decision to invest in technologies that identify sources of deliberate interference and make jamming more difficult.
We have also been working with other international broadcasters to highlight the impact of jamming on our ability to reach our audiences. We have called on governments and regulatory bodies to put maximum pressure on Iran to stop blocking of international broadcasts. The EU Foreign Affairs Council included jamming of satellite signals in its resolution against human rights violations in Iran in October 2011, and the UN General Assembly took a similar action in December 2011. On 6 February 2013 the United States blacklisted Iran’s state broadcasting authority and a major Iranian electronics producer partly because of their role in jamming international broadcasts to Iran.
It is of utmost importance that the satellite industry takes a united stance on highlighting the issue of jamming. There are still different views on whether publicising incidents of jamming help to find a solution or deteriorates the situation.
Jamming has not been the only tactic used by the Iranian government to restrict free flow of information. BBC Persian staff and their families have been subject to increasing harassment and intimidation by the Iranian authorities over the past few years. Their activities against BBC staff have intensified in recent months. An increasing number of BBC Persian staff family members have been questioned and threatened in an attempt to make our colleagues stop working for the BBC.
Harassment and intimidation of families has been accompanied by a widespread anti-BBC campaign in Iran. Cyber-activists believed to have close links to the Iranian authorities have set up fake Facebook pages and fake blogs attributed to BBC Persian journalists. They are using these fake accounts to discredit the BBC Persian staff by accusing them of sexual promiscuity and spying for MI6. These lies then are reported on a nationwide scale by local media including the state TV.
We remain extremely concerned about these activities. I wrote to the Iranian Head of Judiciary in March 2012 asking him to stop such illegal acts, but there was no reply. We have raised our concerns with the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, Ahmad Shahid, and called on governments to take action to cease such acts.
Peter Horrocks is Director of the BBC World Service

China shrugs off accusations of jamming BBC broadcasts

Officials dismiss corporation's statement condemning blocking of its English-language World Service radio broadcasts

Internet cafe in Beijing: the BBC’s Chinese-language website is often blocked, as were Bloomberg and New York Times last year. Photograph: How Hwee Young/EPA

China has brushed off accusations of jamming the BBC's English-language World Service radio broadcasts a day after the broadcaster announced the interference.
"I don't understand this situation," foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a daily press briefing on Tuesday, when asked to comment on the allegations. She said reporters should contact "relevant departments" for further information, but did not specify which departments or how to contact them.
The BBC said on Monday its shortwave radio broadcasts have been jammed in China because of "extensive and co-ordinated efforts" that "are indicative of a well-resourced country such as China".
"The BBC strongly condemns this action which is designed to disrupt audiences' free access to news and information," the corporation said in a statement.
This is not the first time the BBC has encountered some form of interference in China. Its television broadcasts frequently go blank in the middle of sensitive reports. The broadcaster's Chinese-language website is often blocked, and its Chinese-language radio broadcasts have been intermittently jammed for years.
Other international broadcasters such as Voice of America and Radio Free Asia are also jammed in China. Websites of the New York Times and Bloomberg were blocked last year after they published exposés on the wealth accumulated by families of the country's leading politicians.
Some analysts were confused by the timing of the BBC's announcement. "This for me is very weird – it's almost like 1990s," said Michael Anti, a prominent media commentator in Beijing.
He said that in China people associate the BBC with its television dramas and Chinese-language news website, which is blocked but can be accessed using software to bypass internet censors.
"I doubt there is anyone listening to the BBC English radio in China," he added.
BBC journalists were briefly detained last week by Chinese military personnel while filming a nondescript 12-story building in Shanghai that American cyber-security experts have pinpointed as ground zero for a slew of hacking attacks against foreign organisations. The journalists were released after they agreed to surrender their footage.

VOA Condemns Jamming in China

February 27, 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Voice of America condemns the recent start of deliberate interference with its English language shortwave broadcasts into China.
Monitors listening to VOA broadcasts say this interference “appears intentional,” and is strongest in regions around Tibet and along the Indian border.
“The Chinese government has for years jammed VOA and Radio Free Asia Chinese and Tibetan language programs and blocked VOA vernacular language websites,” said VOA Director David Ensor, “but English language programs have historically not been blocked.”
“We condemn this interference and are working with worldwide experts to determine the precise origin of the jamming,” Ensor says.  “The free flow of information is a universal right and VOA will continue to provide accurate and balanced information on platforms that can reach audiences in areas subject to censorship.”
Monitors say the interference affects about 75% of the English language transmissions to China and is similar to the type of jamming aimed at VOA Horn of Africa broadcasts, which are targeted by equipment installed by China in Ethiopia.
Reports of jamming on the VOA shortwave frequencies to China began pouring in earlier this week.  On Monday the BBC issued a statement saying that its English language programs to China were also being jammed.  The BBC statement said the source of the interference could not be determined, but the “extensive and coordinated efforts are indicative of a well-resourced country such as China.”
VOA broadcasts to China on radio, direct-to-home satellite Radio and TV, and the Internet.  News and information is also transmitted on a variety of platforms designed to overcome censorship efforts.

VOA, BBC Protest China Broadcast Jamming

VOA News

February 26, 2013

The Voice of America is protesting new jamming of its English broadcasts in China.

VOA Director David Ensor condemned the new interference and said the U.S. government broadcaster is working with experts to determine the precise origin of the jamming. He said "the free flow of information is a universal right and VOA will continue to provide accurate and balanced information on platforms that can reach audiences in areas subject to censorship."

The U.S.-funded VOA is not the only victim of jamming. The British Broadcasting Corporation said this week its shortwave English radio broadcasts also are being jammed in China.

The BBC said that while it is not possible to know who is doing the jamming, "the extensive and co-ordinated efforts are indicative of a well-resourced country such as China."

VOA broadcast engineers say Radio Australia also is being jammed.

At VOA headquarters in Washington, engineers say that while the agency's Chinese-language broadcasts are routinely jammed in China, its English broadcasts usually are not. They noticed the jamming of the English programs about a month ago and say it appears to use a new technology.

Many countries have used various methods to jam VOA broadcasts for decades, especially during the Cold War when VOA broadcast heavily into the former Soviet Union and other countries under Communist control. Now, its Persian satellite television broadcasts into Iran are frequently jammed, as are VOA Horn of Africa broadcasts to Ethiopia.

BBC says radio broadcasts being jammed in China

LONDON | Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:09am EST

(Reuters) - Radio broadcasts in English from the BBC World Service are being jammed in China, the British broadcaster said on Monday, suggesting the Chinese authorities were behind the disruption.
"The BBC strongly condemns this action which is designed to disrupt audiences' free access to news and information," the BBC said in a statement.
China, which enforces strict restrictions on its domestic media, has been accused by several prominent foreign media of seeking to stop their news reports reaching Chinese audiences.
"The BBC has received reports that World Service English shortwave frequencies are being jammed in China," said the London-based public service broadcaster.
"Though it is not possible at this stage to attribute the source of the jamming definitively, the extensive and coordinated efforts are indicative of a well-resourced country such as China."
A duty officer at China's foreign ministry had no immediate comment.
It was not the first time the BBC had complained of disruption to its services in China, where its website has been consistently blocked.
Last year, it accused the Chinese authorities of jamming its BBC World News TV channel when it broadcast stories regarded as sensitive, such as reports on dissident Chen Guangcheng, who escaped from house arrest and sought refuge in the U.S. embassy.
Other foreign broadcasters including U.S. state-funded radio stations Voice of America and Radio Free Asia have also complained of Beijing blocking access to their programs.
The New York Times reported on January 30 that Chinese hackers had been attacking its computer systems while it was working on an investigative report in October last year on the fortune accumulated by relatives of outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao.
The BBC said in its statement on Monday that it had experienced jamming of satellite broadcasts over the past two years, and that while shortwave jamming was generally less frequent, it did also affect Persian-language transmissions in Iran.
"The jamming of shortwave transmissions is being timed to cause maximum disruption to BBC World Service English broadcasts in China," said Peter Horrocks, director of BBC Global News.
"The deliberate and coordinated efforts by authorities in countries such as China and Iran illustrate the significance and importance of the role the BBC undertakes to provide impartial and accurate information to audiences around the world."
China is listed at number 173 out of 179 countries on the World Press Freedom Index compiled by campaign group Reporters Without Borders.
(Reporting By Estelle Shirbon; Additional reporting by Lucy Hornby; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)

US, European Broadcasters Condemn Jamming From Syria

October 19, 2012

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Washington, D.C. — Major US and European broadcasters are charging that deliberate electronic interference, known as jamming, that has intermittently disrupted satellite signals across Europe and the Middle East since the start of this week is emanating from Syria.
The jamming has hit satellites operated by Eutelsat, a European satellite operator, affecting TV and radio programs reaching millions of households. The Paris-based Eutelsat confirmed that the disruptive signals originate from Syria.
The Directors General of five major public-service international broadcasters in Europe and the United States, known as the DG5, expressed strong criticism of the jamming, which has disrupted broadcasts in an arc from Russia through Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and other U.S.-funded international broadcasters, said signals to a number of countries, ranging from Iran to Iraq to Ukraine, lost audio and video. Other members of the DG5 – Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France – France 24, British Broadcasting Corporation, Germany’s Deutsche Welle (DW), Radio Netherlands Worldwide – also suffered from interference, and joined in protesting.
“We strongly condemn this deliberate interference with news and information programs,” said Richard M. Lobo, Director of the BBG’s International Broadcasting Bureau. “While it may be targeted to prevent the free flow of information in countries with restrictive media environments, the widespread and indiscriminate nature of this jamming denies millions of people access to information. The outrageous jamming of our satellite signals and those of other broadcasters is a violation of international agreements,”  Lobo noted.
“Deliberate interference such as the jamming of transmissions is a blatant violation of international regulations concerning the use of satellites and we strongly condemn any practice designed to disrupt audiences’ free access to news and information,” the BBC said in a statement issued Oct. 18.
Deutsche Welle Director General Erik Bettermann accused Iran of repeated efforts to jam satellite broadcasts from reaching an Iranian audience.
A previous episode of jamming, on October 3-4, was traced to Iran. That coincided with reports of street demonstrations and mass arrests of Iranians protesting falling currency exchange rates.
The latest round of jamming began on October 15; it has escalated steadily since then, according to the broadcasters. That’s the day Eutelsat announced it was terminating transmission of 19 channels belonging to Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
Jamming is prohibited under the rules of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).  Iran is an ITU member and a participant at the organization’s meetings.  It has interfered with U.S.-sponsored civilian broadcasting overseas in the past, including an incident in early 2010.
At its February 2012 meeting, the ITU called upon the world’s nations to take “necessary actions” to stop intentional interference with satellite transmissions. Earlier, the DG5 members called for action against jamming.
The BBG oversees all US non-military international broadcasts. BBG services affected by the latest round of jamming include: VOA, RFE/RL and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks.

BBC condemns China's 'deliberate' jamming of World Service broadcasts

Statement by global news head Peter Horrocks cites 'deliberate and co-ordinated' blocking of shortwave frequencies in region

• guardian.co.uk, Monday 25 February 2013 12.57 GMT

BBC global news director Peter Horrocks blames 'deliberate and co-ordinated' jamming of BBC World Service broadcasts in China, designed to 'disrupt audiendes' free access to news and information. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

The BBC has "strongly condemned" the "deliberate and co-ordinated" jamming of the BBC World Service by authorities in China.
On Monday the corporation issued a statement after receiving reports that its shortwave frequencies were being blocked in China.
It follows jamming of the BBC's Persian service in Iran, and comes days after a BBC news crew was detained and their video footage confiscated while they investigated a cyber-espionage group in China.
The BBC's director of global news Peter Horrocks said: "The jamming of shortwave transmissions is being timed to cause maximum disruption to BBC World Service English broadcasts in China.
"The deliberate and co-ordinated efforts by authorities in countries such as China and Iran illustrate the significance and importance of the role the BBC undertakes to provide impartial and accurate information to audiences around the world."
The BBC added in a statement: "Though it is not possible at this stage to attribute the source of the jamming definitively, the extensive and co-ordinated efforts are indicative of a well-resourced country such as China.
"The BBC strongly condemns this action which is designed to disrupt audiences' free access to news and information.
"In the past couple of years the BBC has experienced jamming of satellite services. Whilst shortwave jamming is generally less frequent, it does affect BBC Persian transmissions in Iran and was historically used to block BBC broadcasts during the cold war."
The BBC World Service, which has a worldwide weekly audience of 239 million listeners, broadcasts on shortwave, AM, FM and on digital satellite and cable.
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Statement regarding interference to BBC World Service transmissions

Date: 25.02.2013Last updated: 25.02.2013 at 11.15

Category: World Service

The BBC has received reports that World Service English shortwave frequencies are being jammed in China. Though it is not possible at this stage to attribute the source of the jamming definitively, the extensive and co-ordinated efforts are indicative of a well-resourced country such as China.

The BBC strongly condemns this action, which is designed to disrupt audiences’ free access to news and information.
In the past couple of years the BBC has experienced jamming of satellite services. While shortwave jamming is generally less frequent, it does affect BBC Persian transmissions in Iran and was historically used to block BBC broadcasts during the Cold War.
Director of BBC Global News, Peter Horrocks says: “The jamming of shortwave transmissions is being timed to cause maximum disruption to BBC World Service English broadcasts in China. The deliberate and co-ordinated efforts by authorities in countries such as China and Iran illustrate the significance and importance of the role the BBC undertakes to provide impartial and accurate information to audiences around the world.”
BBC Press Office

Study: Outside media changing N. Korean worldview

• AP foreign, Friday May 11 2012

MATTHEW PENNINGTON
Associated Press= WASHINGTON (AP) — The growing availability of news media and cellphones in reclusive North Korea likely forced it to admit within hours that its long-range rocket launch last month was a failure, the U.S. human rights envoy to the country said Thursday.
The envoy, Robert King, was speaking at the launch of a U.S. government-funded study that says North Koreans now have unprecedented exposure to foreign media, giving them a more positive impression of the outside world.
North Korea allowed foreign journalists extensive access to the country to report on the centennial of the nation's founder in mid-April, which included the launch of a satellite into space that violated U.N. sanctions. The rocket, which uses the same technology to ballistic missiles, disintegrated within a minute or two of takeoff.
"The media environment in North Korea has changed and is changing, and with the availability of cellphones for internal communication, and greater availability of information internally, you can't just say, 'Let's play patriotic songs' so all can tune in," King said.
The study, commissioned by the State Department and conducted by a consulting group, InterMedia, said North Korea still has the world's most closed media environment — there's still no public access to the Internet — but the government's ability to control the flow information is receding.
Restrictions that threaten years in prison and hard labor for activities like watching a South Korean soap opera or listening to foreign news broadcasts have been tightened since the mid-2000s but are enforced less than in the past, the study said. People remain wary of government inspection teams, but fewer citizens appear to be reporting on each other.
"The state can't count on their citizenry to turn each other in," the main author, Nathaniel Kretchun, said.
The study, titled, "A Quiet Opening: North Koreans in a Changing Media Environment," is based on research involving several hundred North Korean defectors and refugees during 2010-11.
It found that nearly half had watched a foreign DVD, the most commonly used type of outside media. About a quarter of people had listened to a foreign radio news broadcast while in North Korea or had watched a foreign news station.
Nearly one-third of television watchers whose sets were fixed to state-run programing had modified them in order to capture a signal from outside stations detectable along the Chinese and South Korean borders.
North Korea is separated from the more prosperous South Korea by a heavily militarized frontier, and access to the country remains strictly controlled. The communist government's monopoly on information began to erode in the late 1990s, when famine led to less reliance on and trust in the state, Kretchun said.
Nowadays, North Koreans with exposure to outside news or entertainment media are more likely to be favorably disposed toward South Korea and the United States — the North's traditional enemies — although they would be extremely limited in their ability to express such views or act on them, the study said.
"Ultimately, North Korea is losing control of what its people are seeing and listening to and how people are thinking about their socio-economic conditions and the outside world," said Abraham Kim of the Korea Economic Institute.
However, the study said those changing perceptions are unlikely to translate into significant pressure on the North Korean government in the short term. Also, Kretchun cautioned that the research, based on accounts from refugees and defectors, is not necessarily representative of those still living in the country.
Access to technology has picked up rapidly in recent years, fueled by cheap imports from China. Some 74 percent of those interviewed had access to a TV when they lived in North Korea, and 46 percent had access to a DVD player. Computers, portable USB drives and illegal Chinese mobile phones that can make international calls — unlike local cellphones — also have begun entering the country in substantial numbers, especially among the elite.
Martyn Williams, who writes the blog NorthKoreaTech.org, said that the government's intense use of its scant resources and electricity to jam foreign news broadcasts reflected its concern about the impact of outside media.
North Korea targets between 10 and 15 frequencies used by international short-wave broadcasters, such as U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia and stations operated by South Korea's government, for up to 18 hours a day, and on major occasions like the April centennial, it jams radio signals around the clock, Williams said.
The North appears to have recently installed more sophisticated transmitters acquired from a Chinese company, although jamming operations have been up and down this year, likely because of technical problems or power shortages, he said.