Government broadcaster Betar Engineering will be the first to launch HD Radio across the South Asia region, covering 18 million listeners with a turnkey system featuring two GatesAir Flexiva™ transmitters
Cincinnati, OH, January 07, 2016
GatesAir, a global leader in wireless, over-the-air content delivery solutions for radio and TV broadcasters, will turn on the first two HD Radio stations in South Asia in early 2016 for Betar, the national government broadcaster for Bangladesh. The HD Radio™ broadcasts, supported by two GatesAir Flexiva™ 10kW transmitters, will cover the capital city of Dhaka and surrounding regions with high-quality audio for news and entertainment.
Upon evaluating digital radio standards, Betar chose HD Radio due to its exceptional audio quality and multichannel opportunities, and selected GatesAir due to its leadership and innovation for HD Radio in the Americas and internationally. Betar additionally chose GatesAir for its ability to provide a turnkey, low-maintenance over-the-air solution under a tight deadline, as well as local sales and support — two key differentiators from competing vendors.
"Dhaka is considered the tenth largest city in the world, with a population of more than 18 million in the greater region," said Mr. Md. Abul Bashar Patwary, project director, Betar Engineering. "We therefore required a highly reliable, easily serviceable over-the-air delivery platform to ensure consistently strong coverage across the entire region. GatesAir's ability to provide a reliable, US-made platform in a timely manner is helping us get on the air faster—and on the leading edge of digital radio."
GatesAir worked closely with Betar across site planning and system design, including all transmission, antenna, monitoring and peripheral equipment. Along with the Flexiva transmitters, the complete solution includes a GatesAir Exgine4 HD Radio platform featuring a FlexStar HDI-200 Importer and HDE-200 Exporter at the studio. In addition to program audio, this architecture allows Betar to deliver program-associated data services (logos, station ID information, artist/song title details) over a single stream to the transmitter—with plenty of bandwidth to add more program channels in the future. Signal coverage is strengthened through a higher-than-usual FM tower for Betar (250 feet as opposed to 200) and a panel antenna—the first of its kind deployed in Bangladesh.
However, Betar is especially pleased with the training opportunities and ongoing local support provided through GatesAir. Betar representatives travelled to GatesAir's Quincy, Illinois manufacturing center to receive training on the entire system, while GatesAir and local partner Resources-21 Limited will ensure Betar engineers are supported through the installation and commissioning process—and for years following the stations' launch.
"GatesAir worked closely with the Betar team to ensure the end-to-end system is specified to their exact needs in a very challenging operating environment," said Jhonny Maroun, regional sales manager for the Middle East and South Asia (MESA), GatesAir. "We are honored to be working with Betar in this historical project."
About GatesAir
GatesAir, Inc. provides complete solutions for over-the-air radio and television broadcasting, leveraging wireless spectrum to maximize performance for multichannel, mission-critical services. Powering over-the-air networks worldwide with unparalleled reliability for nearly 100 years, GatesAir's turnkey solutions enable broadcasters to create, transport and transmit radio and TV content. With customers in more than 185 countries, the company leads the industry in innovation and design breakthroughs, improving efficiency and reducing total cost of ownership. Visit www.gatesair.com for more information, like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gatesair, and follow us on Twitter at @GatesAir
(Press Release)
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