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Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) Resumes Service
For the past 24 days, Ethiopian Satellite Television (ESAT) broadcasts and transmissions in Ethiopia have been disrupted by external interference to its satellite signals from sources that we are still continuing to investigate. This occurrence has triggered considerable not only public outrage among our viewers in Ethiopia but also internationally.
We thank the tens of thousands of our viewers who have sent us messages of good will, encouragement and support by telephone, email and other means during this period of service interruption. We are pleased by the extraordinary outpouring of public support for ESAT and the determination shown by our viewers and supporters to ensure that they will keep the flames of ESAT burining to illuminate the darkness that has descended on Ethiopia today. We are most encouraged and deeply appreciative of the high level of public support for ESAT.
We have received inquires from our viewers on the methods used to block or jam satellite tramsmissions. It will be recalled that in March 2010, we witnessed the official jamming of the Voice of America and German Radio services to Ethiopia. Radio signals are jammed by increasing the signal-to-noise ration or the level of background noise to overpower the level of desired signal such as programming. In blocking satellite transmissions, there are two commonly used approaches. One method involves the broadcasting of a stronger signal, either from the ground or from another satellite, that drowns out what the originating satellite is sending to the ground, preventing people from receiving the signal. Another method involves blasting signals directly at the originating satellite itself so that it can not hear what the ground source (uplink) is trying to tell it. We plan to present a full program on the details of electronic signal jamming technology in the future.We believe those who have illegally targeted ESAT transmissions are using one or both of these approaches. We wish to underscore the fact that the money and resources expended to block ESAT signals could have been properly used to build schools and hospitals.
We at ESAT are pleased to be back on the air to serve our viewers with the fair and accurate reporting and programming we promised when we began service on May, 2010. We expect those who have disrupted our satellite service to date to use everything in their power to continue their disruptive efforts and permanently block ESAT transmissions. We wish to assure our viewers that we will seek all legal and technological methods to overcome any interference directed at ESAT programming in the future. We ask for the support and patience of our viewers as we continue to struggle to bring forth information, educational and entertainment programming. We ask ESAT supporters to stand by us and with us in this long process.
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