BBC BENGALI A21

BBC Bengali A21
(Effective 28th March to 30th October 2021)

9410  1330-1400 UTC smtwtfs TRINCOMALEE 125 15    
9510  1330-1400 UTC smtwtfs KRANJI      250 320   

11750 1330-1400 UTC smtwtfs A SEELA     125 80  

7410  1630-1700 UTC smtwtfs A SEELA     250 80    

9445  1630-1700 UTC smtwtfs KRANJI      250 320  

BBC BENGALI A18

BBC BENGALI A18

9510  0030 0100 smtwtfs BBC TASHKENT 100 131 Bengali 41NE HR 4/4/1.0
9890  0030 0100 smtwtfs BBC KRANJI   250 330 Bengali 41NE HR 4/2/.8
11700 0030 0100 smtwtfs BBC KRANJI   250 320 Bengali 41NE HR 2/2/.3
9890  0130 0200 smtwtfs BBC KRANJI   250 330 Bengali 41NE HR 4/2/.8
15310 0130 0200 smtwtfs BBC KRANJI   250 315 Bengali 41NE HR 2/2/.8
9510  1330 1400 smtwtfs BBC KRANJI   250 320 Bengali 41NE HR 2/2/.8
11750 1330 1400 smtwtfs BBC TASHKENT 100 131 Bengali 41NE HR 4/4/1.0
15310 1330 1400 smtwtfs BBC A SEELA  250 60  Bengali 41NE HR 4/3/0.5
5845  1630 1700 smtwtfs BBC KRANJI   250 340 Bengali 41NE HR 2/2/0.5
7485  1630 1700 smtwtfs BBC KRANJI   250 340 Bengali 41NE HR 2/2/.3
9540  1630 1700 smtwtfs BBC KRANJI   250 330 Bengali 41NE HR 2/2/.8

-----

Alokesh Gupta

New Delhi

BBC Bengali to drop two half hour shortwave transmissions at morning & evening

With effect from 1st April, 2018 BBC Bengali will drop its two half hour shortwave transmissions at morning, 0030 UTC (Prabhati) and late evening, 1630 UTC (Parikrama) .

"We have noticed that the radio audience of Bangladesh is gradually decreasing and most people have become dependent on television to hear or to know about the news," said Sabir Mustafa, editor, BBC News Bangla on the decision. Today 81 percent of the people in Bangladesh watch television and only 15 percent listen to the radio. "

"On the other hand, young people are going through digital media and online to meet their news and entertainment needs. In this context, we decided to reduce the radio show and will further increase our performance on television and online. "

"At the same time, we think it is very important to keep the news program on the radio in the morning, the popularity of the night is not very much, and we expect the demand for this morning's show will increase further", said Sabir Mustafa.

Mr. Mustafa says, "Now our activities through online and social will grow very much. Facebook and YouTube will be able to give more videos and more analytical articles will be published on our website. At the same time, the kind of stories that people can be good at reading or getting inspiration, the news will be given more. "

Sabir Mustafa said that although two radio programs were closed, BBC News Bangla is now going to become more diverse media.

Revised shortwave schedule BBC Bengali B17

UTC         FREQ  DAYS     SITE    PWR AZI 

----------------------------------------

0130 0200  9560   smtwtfs KRANJI       250 330

0130 0200  11995 smtwtfs KRANJI        250 320

1330 1400  5875   smtwtfs TASHKENT 100 131

1330 1400  9510   smtwtfs KRANJI       250 330

1330 1400  11750 smtwtfs A SEELA     250 60

To be cancelled from 1st April 2018 :

0030 0100 7465  smtwtfs KRANJI   250 340

0030 0100 9560  smtwtfs KRANJI   250 330

0030 0100 11700 smtwtfs KRANJI   250 320

1630 1700 5845  smtwtfs KRANJI   250 340

1630 1700 7485  smtwtfs KRANJI   250 340

1630 1700 9540  smtwtfs KRANJI   250 330  

(Alokesh Gupta, with inputs from BBC.com)  

BBC BENGALI B17

BBC BENGALI B17

UTC   UTC FREQ  DAYS     SITE    PWR AZI

START END

----------------------------------------

0030 0100 7465  smtwtfs KRANJI   250 340
0030 0100 9560  smtwtfs KRANJI   250 330
0030 0100 11700 smtwtfs KRANJI   250 320
0130 0200 9560  smtwtfs KRANJI   250 330
0130 0200 11995 smtwtfs KRANJI   250 320
1330 1400 5875  smtwtfs TASHKENT 100 131
1330 1400 9510  smtwtfs KRANJI   250 330
1330 1400 11750 smtwtfs A SEELA  250 60
1630 1700 5845  smtwtfs KRANJI   250 340
1630 1700 7485  smtwtfs KRANJI   250 340
1630 1700 9540  smtwtfs KRANJI   250 330

(Alokesh Gupta)

BBC Bangla TV and radio content reaches 15m people in Bangladesh

BBC Bangla TV and radio content now reaches 15m people in Bangladesh every week, according to the BBC's 2017 Global Audience Measure. This includes 9m people who watch the BBC Bangla weekly television programme, BBC Probaho, and 7m people who tune in to the BBC Bangla radio programmes.

BBC Bangla editor, Sabir Mustafa, comments: "We are thrilled by the progress of BBC Probaho. We will build on its success by expanding the BBC Bangla presence on television - while continuing to deliver a strong and vibrant radio programming and also working to increase our output across digital platforms including social media."

BBC Probaho is broadcast at 9.35pm local time every Thursday by the BBC's rebroadcasting partner, Channel-i. The programme is also available on the BBC Bangla channel on YouTube. Presented by Sharmin Rauma, it delivers 25 minutes of news, interviews and debate on key issues affecting Bangladesh. It reports from across the country, giving people the opportunity to express views and raise concerns on issues that matter to them and demanding answers from key decision-makers. Following the Eid festival break, the programme resumes broadcasts on Thursday 13 July.

BBC Bangla radio programmes, produced in London and Dhaka, air on the state FM network, Bangladesh Betar, as well as on shortwave and via bbcbangla.com.

Over the past year, BBC Bangla has seen a significant increase in web and social-media reach. BBC Bangla engages around 1.4m people around the world every week via its website bbcbangla.com and on social media. The BBC Bangla Facebook page has over 11.3m followers (July 2017), nearly 80% of them in Bangladesh.

BBC Bangla is part of the BBC World Service.

(Press Release)

BBC Bangla launch mobile audio sports updates

In time for the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, BBC Bangla has added sports bulletins to its audio news available on mobile phones across Bangladesh.

Fans can listen to one minute sports updates by dialing the dedicated short-code, 16262, and choosing Option 2 when prompted. Sports updates will be part of the 15 two-minute news updates available throughout the day, offering audiences a unique global perspective on key national and international news stories.

The first BBC Bangla sports audio bulletin of the day will be available from 04.00 Bangladesh time. It will be updated at 12.00 and then every two hours until 22.00. The BBC Bangla world news audio bulletin will now be available from 08.00 Bangladesh time. There will be a total of 10 world news updates until 23.00. There will be additional sports and world news updates whenever there are breaking news stories. By calling 16262, mobile-phone users can also interact with the BBC via text and audio.

The BBC Bangla mobile news service is available nationally in Bangladesh on all of the country's mobile-phone networks, including Banglalink, Grameenphone, Robi, Airtel, Teletalk and CityCell.

BBC Bangla is a multimedia service, offering a wide range of news, information and analysis on radio and online, in text, audio and video. Sabir Mustafa, Editor, BBC Bangla, says: "There is clearly a high demand in Bangladesh for international sports news, particularly football and cricket. We felt that BBC Bangla will be well placed to offer this content to sport lovers across Bangladesh."

Head of BBC World Service Business Development, Asia Pacific, Indu Shekhar Sinha, adds: "We were thrilled that our decision to add sport to our audio news bulletins was welcomed by the Bangladeshi mobile operators who are hosting them."

Calls cost 2 BangladeshTaka (BDT) per minute. SMS cost 0.5 BDT.

The audio news bulletins are also available online via the website, bbcbangla.com. BBC Bangla radio is available in Bangladesh on shortwave and on BBC 100 FM in Dhaka, 101.2 FM in Comilla, 102 FM in Khulna, 105.4 FM in Chittagong, 105 FM in Rajashahi, 105.4 FM in Rangpur and 105 FM in Sylhet.

(BBC World Service Publicity)

Special program on BBC Bangla 70th Anniverasry

Bangladesh’s rapidly changing media scene will be in the focus of the special BBC Bangla programme to be broadcast on Channel i, marking the 70th anniversary of BBC Bangla in the year of the 40th anniversary of Bangladesh’s independence.
Produced by BBC Bangla in collaboration with Channel i and moderated by BBC Bangla Editor, Sabir Mustafa, the programme, Freedom of information in the internet age, will debate issues raised by the spread of television and advent of social media.
The debate panel will include: Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, H T Imam; Editor of News Today, Reazuddin Ahmed; and Abu Saeed Khan, Secretary General of AMTOB, the Association of Mobile Telecom Operators of Bangladesh. An invited audience of some 200 people will ask the questions.
Sabir Mustafa will moderate the debate, asking about the challenges facing the traditional and new media: “These challenges are coming from the social media revolution which has opened up new avenues to exchange information and debate. They are also coming from governments and other regulatory bodies which seek to restrict the freedom of the established media through legislation and to restrict the use of social media.”
The pre-recorded hour-long debate will be followed by an hour-long live studio discussion during which BBC Bangla presenter, Akbar Hossain, and studio guests - photographer and blogger Shahidul Alam of Drik, and leading journalist and former president of National Press Club, Shawkat Mahmud - will discuss comments on the topic, texted by viewers using the short code 16262.
The panel debate will be broadcast by Channel i at 7.50pm Bangladesh time on Thursday 22 December, and at 8pm on Saturday 24 December on BBC 100 FM in Dhaka and on shortwave 12035kHz and 9800kHz. The live discussion will go on air on Channel i at 7.50pm Bangladesh time on Friday 23 December.

Related links :

Bangladesh at 40
http://www.bbc.co.uk/asiannetwork/events/bangladesh-at-40/

BBC Radio Blog - Bangladesh at 40
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radio/2011/12/bbc_asian_network_mintu_rahman.html

BBC World Service redundancy could spur strike vote

NUJ describes compulsory dismissal of Bengali World Service journalist as 'provocative act'

Tara Conlan
guardian.co.uk, Friday 17 June 2011 16.22 BST

Industrial action at the BBC could be on the cards after the corporation made a journalist at the BBC World Service take compulsory redundancy. The National Union of Journalists called it a "provocative act" and is urging its members to vote for industrial action. On Wednesday a Bengali member of the World Service was dismissed on the grounds of compulsory redundancy, according to the NUJ.

Full story at :
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jun/17/bbc-strike-world-service?CMP=twt_fd

BBC Bangla still announces the wrong GMT !

Almost a month after Swopan Chakraborty alerted the BBC authorities about wrong time announcement BBC Bangla continues to announce the wrong GMT. At 0030 UTC on 20/10/2010 this faulty announcement gave out the the time as "6.30 am in Bangladesh, 5 am in India and 11.30 pm GMT". In an attempt to cover up, the live broadcast which followed gave out the correct Indian local time as " 6.30 am in Bangladesh and 6 am in India". GMT was not corrected. So here was a funny situation where BBC Bangla gave out two different Indian local time announcement within a gap of few seconds and each differeing by 1 hour !

This mix up happened because Bangladesh Government scrapped the Daylight Savings time in March this year. The faulty BBC Bangla time announcement is based on the the earstwhile Banglaesh daylight savings time and lingering in a relay transmitter recording.Earlier BBC Bangla website is on record to have carried backdated and incorrect frequency information for well over 18 months inspite of reminders.

So much for information mess in the digital world of podcasting, mobile feed and DTH where the BBC continues to announce the wrong GMT days after days.

(Dr.Supratik Sanatani, Kolkata via Bangladx list)

BBC Bangla time mix up continues

BBC Bangla continues to mix up the time announcemnt at the start of their 0030-0100 UTC transmission. Only on the Eid day ( Saturday 11th September 2010) did it announce correctly along with Eid greetings. Otherwise a mixed up recorded message continues. At 0030 UTC it gives the GMT wrong as " 11.30 GMT " whereas it should be 12.30 GMT. Indian time is mentioned as 5.00 am. Even this morning 14th September they were continuing with this bungle. Knowing the ways of BBC Bangla, this faux pas will probably continue till December 2010.The website announcement only gives the Bangladesh local time and mentions 6.30 am.

(Dr.Supratik Sanatani via bangladx yg)

BBC Bangla mix up with ghost of Bangladesh Daylight Savings time

BBC Bangla noted on 8th and 9th June 2010 with announcement in Bengali at the start of the 0030-0100 UTC transmission mentioning the local times as "6.30 am in Bangladesh and 5.00 am in India". It should should have actually read "6.30 am in Bangladesh and 6.00 am in India". This is a ghost of the Bangladesh Daylight savings time when Bangladesh local time advanced by one hour between 19th June and 31st December 2009.During this period BBC Bangla had advanced its transmission by one hour to keep up with this change. The Bangladesh Daylight savings time was scrapped before the next daylight savings time session which was supposed to have started on 31st March 2010.

It is not clear since when this mix up has been continuing. BBC Bangla frequency information in Bengali script in their website had remained backdated for well over one and a half years. Only recently has it been corrected.

(Supratik Sanatani,Kolkata via bangladx yg)

BBC's international news services attract record global audience despite short wave radio losses of 20 million

The BBC attracts a record weekly global audience of 241 million people to its international news services like BBC World Service and the BBC World News television channel, according to independent surveys. This is up three million on last year's overall audience estimate. However, the multimedia BBC World Service lost 20 million short wave radio listeners during the year; reflecting the increasing global decline of the medium. But during the year BBC World Service attracted around nine million new viewers to its television, online and mobile services; in addition to new listeners to BBC radio programmes through local FM and medium wave radio partner stations in a number of countries.

BBC Global News Director, Peter Horrocks, said: "BBC Global News's record audience demonstrates that people come to us for journalism that is challenging and asks difficult questions, yet respects different points of view and actively encourages debate. "The figures also show the success of our multimedia strategy and investments for global audiences. But the continued dramatic decline in short wave listening shows that those audiences are rapidly changing the way they access international news. Unless BBC World Service can accelerate its response to those changes, it will face a rapid deterioration of its impact as other technologies become more prominent in international media markets."

BBC World Service drew an overall weekly multimedia audience of 180 million across television, radio, online and mobiles. This is eight million down on last year. The audience losses were mainly due to a sharp overall decline in short wave radio listening during the year. Radio audience losses were particularly dramatic in Bangladesh (-7 million), India (-8.2m), and Nigeria (-2.9 m). However, there were significant radio audience gains in Tanzania (+1.4m), and the US (+ 600,000), mainly through BBC programmes being used on local FM and medium wave radio partner stations.

The multimedia BBC Arabic service attracted an audience of 22 million a week, including 12 million watching BBC Arabic television. The BBC Persian multimedia news and information service was hampered by the jamming of its newly launched TV satellite service and the continued blocking of its online service by the Iranian authorities. However, in a hostile environment for research, the independent surveys indicated audiences of 3.4 million, including 3.1 million watching BBC Persian television in Iran.

Together the channels contributed a 72% increase in the estimated audience of BBC World Service's non-English television services.BBC World Service continued to have strong impact in Afghanistan, where BBC audiences are 10 million; and in Iraq where the BBC reaches 4.5 million people each week. In Burma, the BBC now reaches 8.5 million listeners, up 1.4 million on the last survey.

BBC's commercial international news services BBC World News and bbc.com/news – the BBC commercial international television and online news services – attracted a combined global audience of 83 million. BBC World News has a weekly audience of 71 million. The news, weather and sport sections of the BBC's international commercial site, bbc.com, increased to more than 17.2 million unique users every week. It also attracted more than 1.1million unique users in February 2010 accessing mobile news, weather and sport content from BBC Global News every week. By April, this had increased to 1.5 million unique users every week. There has been an increase of 120% in page impressions in the last year. Mobile traffic to news pages alone on the bbc.com mobile site increased tenfold.

BBC World Service is an international multimedia broadcaster delivering 32 language and regional services, including: Albanian, Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, Burmese, Cantonese, English, English for Africa, English for the Caribbean, French for Africa, Hausa, Hindi, Indonesian, Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Mandarin, Nepali, Pashto, Persian, Portuguese for Africa, Portuguese for Brazil, Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Somali, Spanish for Latin America, Swahili, Tamil, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, and Vietnamese.

It uses multiple platforms to reach its weekly audience of 180 million globally, including shortwave, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels. Its news sites, which received 7.3 million weekly visitors in March 2010, include audio and video content and offer opportunities to join the global debate. It has around 2,000 partner radio stations which take BBC content, and numerous partnerships supplying content to mobile phones and other wireless handheld devices. For more information, visit bbcworldservice.com. For a weekly alert about BBC World Service programmes, sign up for the BBC World Agenda e-guide at bbcworldservice.com/eguide

BBC World News, the BBC's commercially funded international 24-hour news and information channel, is owned and operated by BBC World News Ltd, a member of the BBC's commercial group of companies. BBC World News attracts 71 million viewers a week, is available in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, and reaches 303 million households and more than 1.8 million hotel rooms. The channel's content is also available on 81 cruise ships, 46 airlines, 36 mobile phone networks and a number of major online platforms including bbc.com/news. For further information on how to receive BBC World News, download schedules or find out more about the channel, visit bbcworldnews.com.

The new BBC World Service global audience estimate is derived from a comprehensive programme of independent audience research. This year's figure incorporates new data from 25 countries – some 57% of this year's audience.

The BBC World News audience figure is compiled from multiple surveys (syndicated, omnibus and specifically commissioned) from over 100 countries. The surveys are carried out by independent market research groups and comply with international standards of audience research.

(BBC World Service Publicity)

BBC World Service's language teams connect global audiences with UK Election 2010

In the run-up to Election Day, BBC World Service's 32 language and regional services have mounted extensive programming, making the connection between the UK's key political event on the one hand and the lives of people around the world on the other. The international broadcaster is placing UK Election 2010 in the context of the issues relevant and important to its audience – across platforms, across languages and across regions.

BBC World Service's journalists examine why the decision made by the British electorate matters to people in places as diverse as China and the Arab world, Ukraine and Burma, India and Albania, Indonesia and Russia, Iran and Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Bangladesh. They will follow and report the campaign trail, analysing the effects of the possible outcome on countries and regions.

Peter Horrocks, Director, BBC Global News, says: "The British General Election is of huge interest to audiences around the world who want to discuss and debate the impact the UK votes may have on their lives. The BBC's international multimedia services have gathered the thoughts, hopes and fears of other countries, while reflecting the excitement of this race to a global audience."BBC Persian TV has embarked on the Great British Election Road Trip 2010 – a series of short films in which the presenter, Pooneh Ghoddoosi, and her team hit the road to discover the issues that really matter to the British people and look at themes that are often bypassed by standard daily news coverage.BBC Arabic correspondents, too, are travelling across the UK. On the campaign trail with the three party leaders, they are gauging opinions of the UK's Arab and Islamic communities.

On Election Day, presenter Tony El Khoury will be anchoring a major multimedia broadcast talking to the main parties and audiences, with young British Arabs sharing their views via webcam. The day after the election, the BBC Arabic flagship multimedia interactive programme, Nuqtat Hewar, will feature a studio audience of British Arabs discussing the election result and the impact it will have on their lives.Representatives of the leading parties were quizzed by Russian-speaking online users on BBC Russian. While, on the BBC Afghanistan service in Pashto and Dari, MPs are answering the questions from UK's ethnic Afghans, journalists from the BBC Uzbek for Afghanistan team broadcast from Wootton Bassett – talking about the UK as a military power, asking how people in the UK see Britain's place in the world and the role Afghanistan plays in the UK election. A panel of four ethnic Albanians – a Conservative council candidate in London, an advisor to a Labour MP, a political activist and a business expert – talk about economy, emigration and foreign policy on BBC Albanian.

BBC Indonesia discusses these issues with UK-based Indonesians, while BBC Ukrainian explores the party policies with regard to an issue of utmost interest to its audience – the EU expansion. The educational aspect of the election is an important focus of the coverage by the Central Asian and Caucasus services – BBC Azeri, BBC Kyrgyz and BBC Uzbek. They look at how the elections work in a Western democracy, how the opposition functions, what are the forces influencing UK politics and politicians and what's the role of the British media.

BBC Azeri is reporting from Belfast as the city's conflict-resolution background is relevant to Azerbaijan's conflict with Armenia.As the Burmese government is planning to hold a general election for the first time in 20 years, the BBC Burmese programming specifically targets Burma's young people who have never voted.

The BBC Burmese journalists report on the UK parliamentary system, the relationship between the UK government and the opposition parties, why people vote – and whether they vote for the personality or for electoral platform. The Head of African News & Current Affairs, Joseph Warungu, is doing a series of reports for BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4's The World This Weekend on how the British "do" elections – from canvassing to party leaders' meetings, and the issues the voters are talking about such as sleaze. Using his experience in covering elections in Africa and the US, Warungu takes a personal look at what marks out British elections from other democracies.

BBC Swahili puts under the spotlight UK nationals of African descent who are campaigning for parliamentary and civic seats – or simply playing an active role in the election. All key Swahili programmes will bring live updates reporting the vote on the Election Day, and will analyse the outcome on the next day.

BBC Hausa is looking at a range of issues, from funding of political parties to ideology to vote count, and talking to the UK's Hausa-speaking diaspora about their views of the elections. This general election sees a growing number of candidates from ethnic minorities.

The BBC Chinese online forum offered the audiences an opportunity to question a panel of the UK's ethnic Chinese candidates. And as five parties are fielding ethnic Bangladeshis in a London constituency, the BBC Bangla multimedia programming explores the attitudes of the non-Bangladeshi electorate to these candidates, how UK citizens of Bangladeshi descent see their role in mainstream UK politics, and the influence of Islamists within this community.The stake and clout of the Indian diaspora in certain constituencies is in the focus of BBC Hindi. The service also explores similarities and differences between elections in India and the UK, compares the representation of women in the UK and Indian parliaments and profiles female candidates of Indian descent and their campaigns. Another theme is the role of "Indian" money – financial contributions to political parties from businesses such as Mittals, Pauls, Noons. Teaming up with BBC Tamil and BBC Sinhala, BBC Hindi also explores the constituencies with sizeable Tamil populations in the aftermath of the fall of the Tamil Tigers.

On UK election night, BBC World Service English will broadcast a seven-hour election night special. The programme will offer global audiences bespoke analysis and regular updates throughout the night. Presenter Robin Lustig will be joined by leading politicians and political pundits as they bring the results to the world.For details of programmes and more information, go to bbcworldservice.com.

BBC World Service is an international multimedia broadcaster delivering 32 language and regional services, including: Albanian, Arabic, Azeri, Bengali, Burmese, Cantonese, English, English for Africa, English for the Caribbean, French for Africa, Hausa, Hindi, Indonesian, Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, Kyrgyz, Macedonian, Mandarin, Nepali, Pashto, Persian, Portuguese for Africa, Portuguese for Brazil, Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Somali, Spanish for Latin America, Swahili, Tamil, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, and Vietnamese. It uses multiple platforms to reach its weekly audience of 188 million globally, including shortwave, AM, FM, digital satellite and cable channels. Its news sites, which received 4.7 million weekly visitors in September 2009, include audio and video content and offer opportunities to join the global debate. It has around 2,000 partner radio stations which take BBC content, and numerous partnerships supplying content to mobile phones and other wireless handheld devices. For more information, visit bbcworldservice.com. For a weekly alert about BBC World Service programmes, sign up for the BBC World Agenda e-guide at bbcworldservice.com/eguide.

(BBC World Service International Publicity)

Bangladesh scraps daylight savings time

Bangladesh Cabinet today scrapped the daylight savings time. The daylight savings time was due to come into force from 31st March. Bangladesh Betar and BBC Bangla external service used to shift their broadcast time to keep up with the changed local time. The clock in Bangladesh was first advanced by one hour on 19th June 2009 and had shifted back by one hour on 31st December 2009. This was an electricity savings measure by the Bangladeshi Government.

(Dr.Supratik Sanatani)

BBC Bangla to explore Bangladesh connectivity in special series

Channel i to broadcast TV content - multimedia series to run across radio, text, audio and video via BBC As the government of Bangladesh has announced its ambition to digitalise the country by 2021, in time for the nation's 50th anniversary, BBC Bangla investigates the project's chances for success in a special series of programmes.

In Jogajog Bangladesh (Connectivity Bangladesh), from Wednesday 10 to Friday 19 March, BBC Bangla provides audiences with an insight in all things digital in Bangladesh - and the country's digital future. The multimedia content will be broadcast on radio, online on bbcbangla.com - in text, audio and video - as well as by Bangladesh's Channel i television.

Head of BBC Bangla, Sabir Mustafa, says: "Arguably, full digitalisation of Bangladesh, where less than one per cent of the population is currently connected, is a tall order. "On the other hand, mobile phone use has expanded phenomenally in the past 15 years, and development organisations and private companies have stepped in to connect the rural population to the internet through a network of centres and direct-to-home services. "The BBC Bangla team is exploring the subject from a range of angles, to offer audiences an in-depth and comprehensive look at the extraordinary task."

Presented by Akbar Hossain and produced by Pulak Gupta, the eight BBC Bangla video news stories about digital connectivity in Bangladesh will be broadcast by Channel i in its prime-time news bulletin from Wednesday 10 to Wednesday 17 March, thanks to a special agreement with Channel i. In addition to television, the BBC Bangla series will also be available on shortwave and FM radio and online.

What does e-governance mean for Bangladesh's bureaucracy and public sector services? BBC Bangla follows an upazila (sub-district council) official and two members of the public who are seeking the council's assistance to establish whether digitalisation is changing the way bureaucracy works.

BBC Bangla also assesses whether the government's ambition to link hospitals across the country through internet video, thus giving patients in remote areas the opportunity to be consulted by top doctors in the capital, is realistic.

Bangladesh is mainly an agricultural country - how is digital connectivity being used to improve the lives of farmers? BBC Bangla follows a farmer to a rural 'tele-centre' where he requests information on fertilisers and pesticides, and asks him what difference the use of the internet has made to his work.

BBC Bangla also documents how information delivered via SMS is helping farmers get better prices and deliver their produce to the markets at the best possible time. Another highlight of Jogajog Bangladesh is InfoLadies - the 'digital foot-doctors of Bangladesh' - who ride the length and breadth of the country on their bicycles. With netbooks connected via mobile internet cards, hey visit rural households to bring the internet to their doorsteps. The BBC Bangla crew follows one such InfoLady, documenting her day, and also talks to the scheme's benefactors to find out if it is bringing any change to their lives. BBC Bangla also looks at how the internet has affected Ghataks, the traditional Bengali matchmakers. The BBC reports from a Ghatak's office, following the matchmaker's interaction with clients over the internet. BBC Bangla is also following another Ghatak who comes to a tele-centre, seeking information about a potential groom's employment situation... Jogajog Bangladesh culminates on Friday 19 March on all platforms with a live Have Your Say debate.

Produced and presented from the Channel i studios, the programme will hear multimedia audiences' views on whether Bangladesh can leapfrog into the digital age by 2021.

BBC Bangla is a multimedia service, offering news and current affairs, sports, science, and cultural features to the Bengali-speaking community worldwide and is regarded as a reference point for accuracy and impartiality.

BBC Bangla radio is available in Bangladesh on BBC 100 FM in Dhaka, 101.2 FM in Comilla, 102 FM in Khulna, 105.4 FM in Chittagong, 105 FM in Rajashahi, 105.4 FM in Rangpur and 105 FM in Sylhet.

Bangla speakers across the world can also access BBC Bangla programmes in audio at bbcbangla.com.

Radio programmes include the daily morning news and current affairs programmes Provati at 6.30am and Prattyusha at 7.30am (Bangladesh Time), the daily evening programme Probaho at 7.30pm and late-night programme Parikrama at 10.30pm.

Audiences can also take part in phone-in programmes each Monday and Saturday evening. The in-depth current-affairs programme This World is broadcast on Tuesdays, Interview Of The Week on Wednesdays, and the science programme Bigyaner Ashor on Thursdays. On Fridays, there is a documentary series Dharabahik, and at the weekends there is the sports magazine programme Mathe Maidaney (Saturdays) and the listeners' letters programme Pritibhajoneshu (Sundays).

(BBC World Service International Publicity)

BBC Bangla to explore Bangladesh connectivity in special series

By: RnM Team 02 Mar 10 17:59 IST
MUMBAI: As the government of Bangladesh has announced its ambition to digitalise the country by 2021, in time for the nation's 50th anniversary, BBC Bangla investigates the project's chances for success in a special series of programmes. In Jogajog Bangladesh (Connectivity Bangladesh), from Wednesday 10 to Friday 19 March, BBC Bangla provides audiences with an insight in all things digital in Bangladesh – and the country's digital future. The multimedia content will be broadcast on radio, online on bbcbangla.com – in text, audio and video – as well as by Bangladesh's Channel i television.

Read the ful story here :
http://www.radioandmusic.com/content/editorial/news-releases/bbc-bangla-explore-bangladesh-connectivity-special-series

BBC Bangla changes in transmission schedule from 1st January 2010

BBC Bangla changes its schedule to keep pace with Changes in Bangladesh Local time

BBC Bangla schedule from 1st January 2010

0030 - 0100 UTC 6065, 9510, 11750 kHz
0130 - 0200 UTC 9510, 11995 kHz
1330 - 1400 UTC 5835, 7550, 11850 kHz
1630 - 1700 UTC 6155, 7205, 9650 kHz

Sunday Special Broadcast 1400 - 1500 UTC on 7550, 11915 kHz

BBC Bangla website does not mention these changes. Its frequency page
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bengali/institutional/frequencies.shtml still displays one year old b08 schedules !

(Supratik Sanatani via Bangladx yg)

Bangladesh will bring back its time by one hour from 11.59 Hrs local time on Dec31

Bangladesh will shift its clock back by one hour from midnight of 31st December 2009. It means 11.59 Hrs Bangaldesh time will become 10.59 Hrs on 31st December 2009.This will continue till 31st March 2010 when it will shift forward by one hour again.

(http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=119573)

BBC Bangla had earlier shifted its time to match the changed Bangladesh time and VOA Bengali service recently announced that it will shifts its evening service by one hour from December 31st to match the Bangladesh time. However, the VOA announcement was made before this announcement of shifitng back of Bangladesh timings was announced on 25th December 2009.

It will be interesting to watch the international broadcasters match this twice a year change and also manage the A and B frequency change seasons.

(Supratik Sanatani)

BBC Bangla Special Broadcast for Indian Election result on 16th May'09

1330 - 1430 UTC : 11795,11595, 9460 kHz
1630 - 1730 UTC : 13750, 9505, 6500 kHz

The regular 30 minutes broadcasts will be available on the scheduled frequencies

Dr.Supratik Sanatani
Kolkata

BBC Bangla Special Broadcast for Bangladesh elections

On 29th December 2008 BBC Bangla special / extended broadcasts were received here in Kolkata as:

1330-1430 UTC (extended transmission) on 9555 and 7580 kHz
1630-1830 UTC (extended transmission) on 7205 kHz
2130-2230 UTC (special transmission) on 7150 and 5955 kHz

No special transmission between 0830-0900 UTC could be heard. BBC Bangla website did not reply to a email request for information on these transmissions.The website does not show the B08 frequencies but continues to display the old A08 ones.

(Supratik Sanatani via Bangladx YG)