Broadcast Electronics (BE) announced that it has deployed FM studio and transmission equipment to Ethiopia in a project valued at $1.5 million.
The equipment is for six new FM stations to be operated by South Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State Mass Media Organization (SNNPRSMMO), the broadcast organization for the government in the southern region of Ethiopia.
Included in the transaction are BE AudioVAULT digital media systems, BE FM 1kW transmitters, as well as STL’s, towers, generators, and full turnkey installation and training. BE’s local partner Zami Public Connection recruited and trained the local staff brought in to run the station, including technicians, journalists, and administrators.
”The project can surely be described as the first of its kind in the emerging media sector of Ethiopia. It is huge. It integrates acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment currently in use in the broadcast industry and the build up of a local human resource base to operate as well as maintain the stations,” said Zerihun Teshome, principal of Zami Public Connection.
Previously, BE and Zami Public Connection built a turnkey FM station, Radio Voice of South (Ravos), broadcasting on FM 100.9 from the region’s capital of Awassa. “BE and Zami have the honor of being entrusted with the responsibility of delivering such a significant project, impacting the lives of 13 million people of the Southern Regional State, because of a track record of proven commitment, professionalism and responsibility,” added Teshome.
The six new FMs build on this previous success to expand the dissemination of local and national information to a diverse Ethiopian population, including a segment that lives a very traditional pastoral life with very little contact from the outside world.
