Broadcasters call for conference to discuss satellite jamming

Five of the largest international broadcasters in attendance at the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-12) in Geneva have called for an international treaty-making conference to address the problem of intentional interference with satellite transmissions.

The BBC, Deutsche Welle (DW), Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France (AEF), Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) and the US Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) said the practice of satellite jamming was spreading.

They noted such jamming as contrary Article 15 of the Radio Regulations of the International Telecommunication Union, and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

In recent months BBC Persian Television, the Voice of America Television Channel in Persian and Radio Farda; and Deutsche Welle’s television and radio services have all been affected by jamming believed to originate from Iran.

The statement was delivered to the World Radiocommunication Conference through the European Broadcasting Union, the world’s largest association of national broadcasters.

The conference meets every three to four years with a mandate mandated to review and revise the Radio Regulations, the international treaty governing the use of radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits.

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