'SATELLITE-RADIO FOR THE THIRD WORLD'
Music and education from WorldSpace comes to Africa, Asia...
BANGALORE, Feb 22: This radio-receiver is like something you've never
heard before. It offers fade-free sound, and music of near-CD quality.
But, more importantly, WorldSpace wants its 'digital audio' service to
act as a powerful tool to spread knowledge to the information-starved
regions of the world.
Just launched in India, after touching Africa and other Asian countries,
WorldSpace is drawing quite some attention here. Earlier, it set up set
up a satellite covering Africa (called AfriStar), while another for
Latin America is scheduled soon.
What's this all about? Is it something more than a 'rich-man's toy'? Can
its promise really work?
Using satellites, and specially-manufactured radio receivers, WorldSpace
offers global wireless digital audio programmes. Currently, you can tune
in to some 23 crystal-clear channels across the sub-continent of India.
>From here, you can even tune in to music from Africa, a children's
edu-tainment channel in English, Western classical music, or even Hindi
film music from a studio in Mumbai (Bombay).
How does the technology work?
Broadcasters uplink their signals to the satellite, either through a
centralised hub-site or individual feeder link stations. Then, the
satellite transmits the signal received back down. Any WorldSpace
receiver in any of the downlink beam areas then receives the signal in
that beam.
But rather than the technology, the story of WorldSpace is fascinating.
Ethiopian-born WorldSpace chairman Noah A. Samara (44), the son of a
diplomat, studied in the US and UK. He got convinced that information
was the key to expanding opportunities.
At 34, he founded WorldSpace in 1990. As he points out: "The company's
mission is to create information affluence by using new audio technology
to deliver programming to three-quarters of the world's population that
today lacks adequate radio reception and program choice and that wants
news, knowledge and entertainment of the highest quality at an
affordable cost."
WorldSpace's business plan is to launch a total of three satellites,
being built by Alcatel Space and launched by Arianespace. To receive
broadcasts, anyone in the region (currently much of Africa and Asia)
would need a special WorldSpace portable receivers, with attached
four-inch dish antennas. These L-band receivers have been designed and
mass-produced specially for WorldSpace by electronic giants Hitachi,
JVC, Matsushita (Panasonic) and Sanyo.
"People are as developed as the information they can access," Mr. Samara
says. "We are committed to creating information affluence. Radio reaches
out to people where other media simply can't. It goes deep into people's
minds, appealing to their imaginations, rather than overwhelming their
senses. (It) is a modern-day extension to the world's oral tradition."
Recently launching operations in India, WorldSpace executive vice
president Dr M.G.Chandrashekar said it is not only bringing in "crystal
clear programming" from across the globe, but would also give Indian
talent a "global reach".
Side by side with the company, a US-based non-profit organisation called
WorldSpace Foundation is also working to promote educational and
informational programming to people in developing regions of the globe.
Its work is specially targeted at people "disadvantaged by illiteracy,
poverty or geographic isolation".
It hopes to put out increasing content dealing with development-related
topics, such as health, agriculture, environment, women's issues and
civic education.
WorldSpace's India head Mathewkutty Sebastian told PUBLICO that they've
already sold 10,000 receivers in India. Soon planned is the local
production of receivers, and hopes to manufacture mobile receivers by
2003.
WorldSpace's free, multi-lingual programmes are put out in a multitude
of languages including English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Swahili, Hindi,
Tamil, Telugu, Tagalo, Malay and Bahausa. From Lusophone Africa, one can
also tune in to music in the Portuguese language.
Since its launch in Africa iand Asia, WorldSpace's special receivers are
available in select electronics retail stores in a range of countries:
Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Lebanon,
Madagascar, Nigeria, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Togo, and the
UAE.
What makes WorldSpace different? Broadcasters can get a wide reach with
limited infrastructure. Listeners get a wide choice. Also, each receiver
is equipped with a data port that can download data at 128kbps. This
means that WorldSpace can have multimedia capability too. In addition,
its digital signal means clarity and fade-free listening. You can tune
in from anywhere in the coverage area that is within line-of-sight of
the satellite. From a single point of broadcast, the satellite covers 14
million square km, without loss of sound quality! To tune in to
WorldSpace, you need a special receiver, containing the STARMAN chipset.
This demodulates the signal from the satellite.
Clearly there are problem areas. If WorldSpace receivers are so costly,
how will they reach the poor? Currently each costs US$250-500.
WorldSpace says it has identified an audience of 200 million households
in Africa, Asia and Latin America that can afford, and would purchase
its receiver at its initial market price. "As is common with most
consumer products, increased market penetration will drive receiver
prices down," it promises.
WorldSpace says that statistically, in North America, for every radio
station there are 30 thousand listeners, there is a radio station, in
Europe, for every 70 thousand listeners. For our service area, however,
the scenario is 2 million people per radio station.
Says the corporation: "WorldSpace is working tirelessly to illuminate
Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean with
digital satellite audio. The system may bring the light of knowledge to
four billion people and may diminish the darkness of ignorance, disease
and despair."
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frederick noronha, freelance journalist, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
near convent, saligao 403511 goa india 0091.832.409490/ 409783
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