BBC World Service to sign funding deal with US state department
Low six-figure investment will aim to help combat censorship of TV and internet
services in countries including Iran and China
• Ben Dowell
• guardian.co.uk, Sunday 20 March 2011 19.17 GMT
• Article history
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/mar/20/bbc-world-service-us-funding?CMP=twt_fd
The BBC World Service is to receive a "significant" sum of money from the US
government to help combat the blocking of TV and internet services in countries
including Iran and China.
In what the BBC said is the first deal of its kind, an agreement is expected to
be signed later this month that will see US state department money – understood
to be a low six-figure sum – given to the World Service to invest in developing
anti-jamming technology and software.
The funding is also expected to be used to educate people in countries with
state censorship in how to circumnavigate the blocking of internet and TV
services.
It is understood the US government has decided the reach of the World Service
is such that it makes investment worthwhile.
The US government money comes as the World Service faces a 16% cut in its
annual grant from the Foreign Office – a £46m reduction in its £236.7m budget
over three years that will lead to about 650 job cuts. The money will be
channelled through the World Service's charitable arm, the World Service Trust.
The deal, which is expected to be formally announced on International Press
Freedom Day, 3 May, follows an increase in incidents of interference with World
Service output across the globe, according to its controller of strategy and
business, Jim Egan.
BBC Persian television, which launched in early 2009 and airs in Iran and its
neighbouring countries, has experienced numerous instances of jamming. The BBC
Arabic TV news service has also been jammed in recent weeks across various
parts of north Africa during the recent uprisings in Egypt and Libya.
"Governments who have an interest in denying people information particularly at
times of tension and upheaval are keen to do this and it is a particular
problem now," said Egan.
Another area in which the BBC World Service is expected to use the US money is
continuing its development of early warning software.
This will allow it to detect jamming sooner than it does currently where it
relies on reports from users on the ground.
"Software like this helps monitor dips in traffic which act as an early warning
of jamming, and it can be more effective than relying on people contacting us
and telling us they cannot access the services," said Egan.
The BBC also expects to use state department money to help combat internet
censorship by establishing proxy servers that give the impression a computer
located in one country is in fact operating in another, thereby
circumnavigating attempts by repressive governments to block websites.
"China has become quite expert at blocking websites and one could say it has
become something of an export industry for them – a lot of countries are keen
to follow suit," said Egan.
"We have evidence of Libya and Egypt blocking the internet and satellite
signals in recent weeks."
Egan added that the battle against jamming is likely to be an ongoing one
because repressive countries are likely to develop methods to counter any
anti-censorship technology that is developed.
"It is a bit of a game of cat and mouse," said a BBC source.
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