WEEK LONG WORKSHOP ON DRM PLAN BEGAINS AT PBA

                         DIGITIZATION INEVITABLE TO INFUSE NEW LIFE IN STATE BROADCASTER: AMBREEN JAN

                         TWENTY-TWO MCRs, FORTY-FIVE STUDIOS SELECTED FOR DIGITIZATION: KAMRAN SAEED

Islamabad, March 09: A week long national workshop on “Digital Radio Migration” (DRM) plan began at Pakistan Broadcasting Academy today. Over-thirty engineering professionals of Radio Pakistan and private sector are attending the workshop.

Addressing the participants on opening day of the workshop, Director General, Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, Ambreen Jan said Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and Radio Pakistan’s top management are making hectic efforts to execute Digital Radio Migration Plan in three phases to switch over to digital technology from the existing obsolete analog approach.

She said the management is determined to take timely measures to infuse a new life in the production and presentation of news and programmes of the State Broadcaster by shifting over to modern digital transmission system, having crystal clear sound quality without noise and distortion with cost effectiveness.

Ambreen Jan said Digital Radio Migration (DRM) policy for Radio Pakistan has already been approved by its Board of Directors in January this year while PBC engineers had successfully conducted the trial of DRM, FM-transmission at National Broadcasting House, Islamabad.

She said the PC-1 of the DRM plan has been prepared at a cost of 176.882 million rupees and submitted to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for its approval by the competent forum of Planning Commission.

Director Engineering, PBC,  Kamran Saeed informed the participants that as per pilot project, the existing digital-enabled 400 KW medium wave transmitter Peshawar and 100 KW medium wave transmitter D.I.Khan will be upgraded to operate on simulcast (analaog+digital) mode as well as pure digital mode. The stipulated time period for completion of pilot project is two years.

He said as part of digitization policy, PC-1 of another plan is being prepared under which twenty broadcasting houses of Radio Pakistan have been selected to digitize their Master Control Rooms (MCRs) and forty-five news and programme studios.

Speaking of the occasion Chief Executive Officer, HEDRA Technology, Roman Afroz Butt appreciated the efforts of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and PBC management for the proposed Digital Radio Migration Plan. He hoped it would help the state broadcaster to meet the technological and strategic challenges in a befitting manner.

Foreign qualified and DRM certified PBC Instructors, Engr. Ghulam Mujaddid and Engr. Yasir Mustafa, covered the opening topic of Introduction of Digital Radio Migration in two sessions today.

In his welcome address Principal, PBA, Muhammad Tariq Chaudhry, welcomed the honourable guests and the participants of the first ever national workshop on DRM Technology.

Earlier, Principal PBA and the staff warmly welcomed the Director General, PBC Ambreen Jan on her arrival at the campus and presented a bunch of flowers.