BBC resurrects WWII-era shortwave broadcasts as Russia blocks news of Ukraine invasion – It always comes back to radio when modern tech fails
The BBC is resorting to broadcasting news bulletins over shortwave radio in Russia after the country blocked access to BBC websites, The Guardian reports. The BBC announced it was bringing back the WWII-era broadcasting technology in the region just hours before its sites were banned. News of the ban was also reported by Russian state news agency RIA.
Shortwave radio uses frequencies that carry over long-distances and are accessible on portable sets. The BBC says its shortwave broadcasts will be available on frequencies of 15735 kHz from 6pm to 8pm and 5875 kHz from midnight to 2am, Ukraine time. News will be read in English, which the BBC says will be available in Kyiv as well as “parts of Russia.”
In 2019, the corporation also launched a Tor Onion domain, which is designed to offer a more secure, higher performance, and censorship-resistant way to access its website via Tor browsers compared to a typical .com or .co.uk URL.
Fascinates me that no matter how we move forward with technology, we have to realise how fragile it really is, and how more dependencies are introduced, which can be disrupted. Good old radio still works, though, and can reach right around Earth. More advanced low power digital radio has even better reach, but does require slightly more specialised software (which most radio hams can put in place).
#technology #BBC #war #shortwave #radio #tor
source https://gadgeteer.co.za/bbc-resurrects-wwii-era-shortwave-broadcasts-as-russia-blocks-news-of-ukraine-invasion-it-always-comes-back-to-radio-when-modern-tech-fails/
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