Digital music and downloads on satellite radio
Digital music and downloads on satellite radio
By Vishnu K. Mahmud
JAKARTA (JP): Back in my pre-Internet days, far from home and
television, my only source of information and entertainment was
my short wave radio. I'd listen to the BBC news, relayed every
hour, and would always be annoyed at the background hiss and
crackle. Now, in the heyday of Internet multimedia and cable TV,
radio is probably dead. Or is it? Noah Samara does not think so.
Samara is the CEO of Worldspace Corporation, a provider of
digital audio and multimedia which is beamed down directly by
satellite. He believes that the fundamental difference between
people, no matter if they are rich or poor, is access to
information. However, people in sub-Saharan countries or those
living far from urban areas may lack the informational service or
facilities that the everyday city dweller takes for granted. Many
radio and TV stations target cities more then the small
provincial town off the beaten trail. This is where Worldspace
comes in.
Originally designed to create direct audio broadcasts via
satellite to stop the spread of AIDS in Africa, Worldspace aims
to educate the masses with their news, entertainment content and
instructive programs. Targeting the Asian, African and Latin
American regions, the programs offered are rich in variety. In
addition to the familiar BBC, MTV and CNN broadcasts, Worldspace
has its own multiple music channels that pipe out pop, jazz,
rock, classical, country music and radio plays. Each channel runs
24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Using special digital receivers, people can obtain this
variety of "radio" channels provided direct from Worldspace
headquarters in Washington, D.C. Partnered with global news and
entertainment organizations, the company has also joined forces
with various national radio stations to supply local music
content for each region. There are Thai and African music
channels as well as Arabic and Turkish stations. In Indonesia,
Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI) and the Masima Corporation (parent
company of the popular Prambors radio station in Jakarta) has
joined Worldspace to provide some local entertainment and news.
Right now, there are four digital receivers on the market.
Manufactured by JVC, Sanyo, Panasonic and Hitachi, these
receivers were priced under US$250. You can actually buy them in
Indonesia at the Agis Electronics Superstore in Jakarta for
between about Rp 1,150,000 (for the portable short-wave model)
and Rp 1,500,000 (the larger model). Each receiver differs in
size and weight but all have crystal clear satellite reception
and a data port for multimedia downloads (more about that later).
The design of the receivers vary. The Panasonic model comes
across as an upscale clock radio (like a Bose CD/Radio) while the
Hitachi model looks like an everyday basic (but rather bulky)
short-wave radio. Sound quality also varies from the stereo sound
of the JVC to the single speaker audio of the portable Sanyo.
However, all units have line out and headphone jacks so attaching
it to your current stereo system should be easy.
Listening to these crystal clear radio broadcasts takes me
back to the days when power failures were common. There was
nothing to do but listen to the battery powered radio. With that
in mind, Worldspace made sure that each radio is powerful enough
to receive the satellite signals but efficient enough to be
powered by AC, batteries or even a solar panel.
The one thing that piqued my interest, however, is the ability
of each digital receiver to download multimedia information or
Internet data straight to your computer. Armed with an adapter
cable and special card for the PC, one can download the data
equivalent of a CD (about 650 megabytes) in less then three
minutes. The data port on the radio has the ability to receive
data at the rate of 128 kilobits per second. Compare that with
your 33 kbps modem.
For example, you can download an Internet site directly to
your hard drive and surf that site without the need of connecting
to the Internet. You are, nonetheless, limited to the content
provided by Worldspace since the data stream is one way. In other
words, you cannot surf over to Playboy.com and request to
download the entire site, photos and all, via satellite.
Worldspace is currently searching for multimedia partners to
provide content that can be downloaded and utilized offline by
the user. For partners, the potential reach of over a billion
people in Asia alone is staggering.
This feature is not a broadband solution for the developing
world, nor is it a competitor to the local Internet Service
Providers (ISP). This receiver was meant to complement the
Internet in areas where phone charges or Internet fees are high.
One can use Worldspace to download news and other content and
employ the Internet to send and receive e-mail, chat and
research. The British Medical Journal is a content partner and
its scientific studies and educational papers can be spread
quickly and efficiently. This subscription-based multimedia
service is already running in Africa and should commence in Asia
by the end of the year.
Backed by individual investors, Worldspace has poured in
nearly a billion dollars for three satellites (Africa, Asia and
Latin America), a couple of state of the art studios and a
worldwide audience. It plans to collect revenue from (content)
capacity service agreements, advertising sales, multimedia
subscriptions and a percentage of royalties on receiver sales.
The Ethiopian-born Samara wanted to help bridge the digital
divide. He believes that news and education can be distributed
efficiently by radio more then any other medium. And giving
everyone the same information and education would level the
playing field and help cultivate the underdeveloped regions in
Africa and Asia. With relatively low-cost radio receivers and
tons of content, that dream can be achieved. (vmahmud@yahoo.com)
For more information, log on to www.worldspace.com
(http://www.worldspace.com).