Text of Australian Broadcasting Corporation press release on 3 July
From today, Radio Australia is moving from shortwave broadcasting to online technology and local FM rebroadcasting to develop new audiences in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Cambodian broadcasts will revolve around the successful placement of Khmer content on “third-party” FM platforms in Cambodia. The geographic coverage will be 70 per cent and the population contact is estimated to reach 85 per cent.
In Vietnam, the declining popularity of SW broadcasts and the surging demand for online services has opened the path for a live interactive “Australia-Vietnam” information and cultural exchange web portal. This service is located at www.bayvut.com
“Delivering content via new platforms, to new audiences and providing new styles of programming is an international broadcasting trend that is being led by Radio Australia, ” stated John Westland, manager of Projects and Partnerships.
At the same time, Radio Australia is now broadcasting from two new transmitters near Townsville that are digitally (DRM - Digital Radio Mondiale) capable. These transmitters will enable RA to trial digital shortwave radio to Asia and the Pacific.
DRM is under trial in China by Chinese National Radio - 800,000 radios and 14 transmitters, while Radio New Zealand International (RNZI) has trialled and is successfully implementing DRM in the South Pacific. DRM is also being widely trialled by a number of major providers in Europe.
(Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation press release, Sydney, in English 3 Jul 06 via BBC Monitoring/R. Netherlands Media Network Weblog)