Nepal: With no ITU registration border FM radio at risk

KOSH RAJ KOIRALA   KATHMANDU, Dec 5: The government´s failure to maintain trans-border coordination while issuing radio frequency licenses in the bordering Tarai districts has placed the investment in FM radio stations at risk. The failure of trans-border coordination has not only led to the problem of frequency overlapping, but also left the FM radio frequencies insecure, with the prospect of having to shut down promptly if International Telecommunications Union (ITU) regulations are anything to go by. Trans-border coordination in radio frequencies is effected at the government level through ITU, a specialized agency of the United Nations that looks after the management of radio and telecom frequencies. According to ITU regulations, it is mandatory for a member state to register its FM radio frequencies or telecom frequencies with the Geneva-based ITU to secure these airwaves in case they reach across international borders. Both Nepal and India are member states of the ITU. Neither Nepal nor India has so far engaged in trans-border coordination through the ITU while issuing FM frequency licenses in their bordering areas. An FM station needs to shut its operations if another FM station across an international border operating on the same frequency had its frequency registered with the ITU first and officially lodges a complaint, irrespective of the date it came into operation. Nepal and India both fall under Region III in ITU categorization in reference to FM radio frequency distribution. Both countries are required to issue FM frequency licenses ranging between 87.6 MHZ and 108 MHZ. The problem began surfacing after the Indian authorities, following Nepal, began issuing a large number of FM licenses since three years back. At least two FM stations - one in Jhapa (Kanchanjungha FM) and another in Kanchanpur (Shuklaphanta FM)-- are now compelled to alter their frequencies -- something impossible when FM frequency distribution has already reached a saturation point. Worse, many other FM stations operating in the southern bordering districts have lately begun experiencing the problem of frequency overlapping. According to the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC), over 50 FM stations are operating in various districts bordering India. Officials said the frequencies of Nepal-based FM stations with 100 watt to 1,000 watt capacity are easily overlapped by FM stations across the border with capacities ranging from 5 KW to 10 KW. MoIC officials said the government has registered only short wave (SW) and medium wave (MW) frequencies of state-owned Radio Nepal with the ITU so far. Likewise, telecom service providers are found to be coordinating on their own with their counterparts in India. MoIC officials admit their failure to ensure trans-border coordination while issuing FM licenses in bordering districts to the south. "We had not come across the problem of frequency overlapping until recently," said MoIC spokesperson Narayan Prasad Regmi. "The ministry will take necessary measures since the problem has now begun surfacing." koshraj@myrepublica.com
Published on 2009-12-05 08:26:48 Source: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=12547

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