Pakistan Launches DRM Radio with Transmitter Project

In Pakistan, a massive antenna project is being built to bring Digital Radio Mondiale service to the nation's public radio listeners - and beyond.

Calling Radio Pakistan's analogue and shortwave broadcast technology outdated, the nation's minister for information and broadcasting formally launched a project on July 30th designed to bring 1,000-kw digital signals from the public broadcaster to listeners in Pakistan and beyond. The upgrade begins at a time when the majority of Radio Pakistan's transmitters have been declared obsolete and have been shut down.

According to the DRM website, DRM was approved in January of 2020 as the standard in Pakistan for all frequency bands on AM and FM radio.

The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation's digital transmitter project is being built in Rawat, which has been declared as the nation's first media city. Pakistan's new broadcasting system is based on Digital Radio Mondiale, or DRM, technology. Its ability to transmit as many as four signals at the same time has found favour with Pakistani government officials who believe this will save energy costs and be more efficient. The minister for information and broadcasting, Marriyum Aurangzeb, said that the boost in signal strength and range will benefit listeners in the Middle East, the Far East, Central Asia, South Asia and Eastern Europe.

The technology is enjoying a robust rollout elsewhere. Thirty-five medium-wave transmitters are sending signals to more than 900 million people in India, where cars are also being outfitted with DRM receivers. Indonesia, China and Romania are among the many nations that also have various forms of DRM broadcasting.