[cr-india] cost of setting up a community radio station

Thu Nov 30 12:25:27 CET 2006

Dear Aaditeshwar,

this email is in response to your query regarding the costs of setting up community radio stations. 

I run a UK-based organisation called RadioActive that specialises in providing equipment, training and technical assistance to set up community radio stations. Please visit www.radioactive.org.uk for more information on our work.

It is true that there are ways to cut corners on the cost of setting up a community radio station. It depends on how reliable you want the equipment to be, how large an area you would like to cover, the local terrain, whether you have access to power, and what kind of capacity you would like to have in your radio studios.

We have set up stations for communities with very low budgets, for example in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico (see www.radioactive.org.uk/cipo.htm), where the following equipment is installed:

Desktop PC with radio production, recording and broadcast freeware
Mixer with 2 line inputs and 2 mic inputs
2 Mics (host and guest)
Headphones
 FM Radio (for monitoring output)
 Power Strip
 Audio Cables and connectors
 Recording Walkman (for field interviews)

30 Watt FM Transmitter 
Antenna
Antenna Cable (important and not that cheap!)
15 metre pole

Total cost: under 1000 pounds.

There are of course plenty of other pieces of equipment that you might want to add to this set up, such as additional field recorders, a compressor/limiter to protect your listeners from inconsistent levels, or metering equipment for your transmitter (such as an SWR meter) to make sure that your system is performing well.

However to get a community on the air, with the ability to make radio programs with a mix of interviews recorded in the field, live interviews, music, spots, jingles and other pre-recorded programming, the equipment listed above is more than adequate.  This station broadcasts to over 10000 people, in communities up to 25km away.  While we were there giving training and installing the equipment, the radio was used to advertise and invite people to a dance which raised funds for the running costs of the station. 

The location of the station and the antenna are crucial to keeping the costs low while maintaining a wide coverage area.  

The 10 metre pole used in Oaxaca cost about 70 pounds, including the guy wires to hold it on the roof of the station building.  A pole of only 10 metres was required because the station was located on one side of a valley, where it was visible to a large number of other communities.  Therefore a taller tower was not required.  The location was also served by electricity.  

It is not always possible to locate the station and antenna so ideally.  I would be interested to hear more about the 300 US dollar 20 metre you mentioned.  Wi-fi connectivity between several smaller stations is also an interesting option, although if your budget is limited, it would generally be cheaper to build one larger successful station, than several smaller ones connected by wi-fi. Still worth looking into though!  Especially for the increased potential for participation, as you mentioned.  

Bear in mind that equipment is only one element of building a successful community radio station. Building a solid team to run the station takes a lot of effort and hard work too!

If you know of communities looking to set up a community radio station, please get in touch.

Thanks,

Max

Max Graef
Director
RadioActive
max at radioactive.org.uk
www.radioactive.org.uk

From: Aaditeshwar Seth 

Subject: [cr-india] Cost of setting up a CR station

To: cr-india at sarai.net

Message-ID: <456DCA68.1030308 at cs.uwaterloo.ca>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"; format=flowed

Dear all,

Please excuse my ignorance, but I was very surprised by the cost numbers

stated in an earlier email. A few months back I also glanced through one

of the CR handbooks available on the UNESCO website, and I couldn't 

understand what made the costs go up so significantly. I hope members 

here can clear up my doubts.

>> Setting up a CR station could cost you anything between 10,00,000 to

>> 20,00,000 INR, though I'm told it can be done for much less (Don't
bet on

>> it - there are hidden costs).

I know that FM PCI cards that plug into a regular desktop computer come 

for around Rs.7,500. They have an output of only 20W, but I believe that

amplifier circuits can be built easily. A decent desktop computer now 

sells for hardly Rs.25,000, and recycled computers are available for 

peanuts. All content editing can be done in software on the computers. 

The tower costs for the transmitter can be high, but there are research 

groups who have demonstrated that sturdy 20m towers can be developed for

under $300 ~ Rs.15,000. I can't think of anything else apart from minor 

peripherals like speakers and microphones. Sound-proofing a recording 

studio could be expensive, but is it really essential?

On a related note, have people compared the costs of setting up multiple

small 20W CR stations that have a range of up to 5km, instead of a 

single big 100W station? I have a feeling that small CR stations 

networked together (through WiFi or other means) to share content can be

not only more cost effective than a single big CR station, but also more

participatory.

Hoping to gain some insight...

regards

Aaditeshwar

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

Message: 2

Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2006 20:57:37 +0530

From: "Frederick Noronha" 

Subject: [cr-india] Fwd:  Code of Conduct

To: cr-india at sarai.net

Message-ID:

      <8ea78e010611290727o62cc0f3ay4657adeb5ffac988 at mail.gmail.com>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"; format=flowed

So are we giving a quiet burial to the Code of Conduct debate? If we

have no interest in it, we would just as well have to take a

pro-censorship line that officialdome things of. It would really help

for us to go beyond just the "security concerns" aspect.  After all,

we have been arguing that community broadcasters get their legitimacy

because they act on behalf of the "community". Accountability  is a

key issue. Self-regulation is important to avoid unnecessary curbs

from officialdom and the bureaucracy.

Below is a letter from Dr Leela Rao, an old friend formerly at the

Manipal Institute of Communication and host of an event on CR in 2002

or so. FN

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Leela Rao

Date: 23-Nov-2006 12:31

Subject: Re: [cr-india] Code of Conduct

To: Frederick Noronha

Deare Fred,

First of all congragulations to all of you for the

excellent work done in getting through the

legislation.

Fred, I am glad you have initiated this debate about

"codes". I was waiting for all euphoria to settle down

before suggesting any such proactive stance.

I agree this is not about regular codes that

governement imposes on broadcasters or any self

regulatory mechanisms that commercial media are

supposed to imbibe.

Also CR will throw up situations, challenges that are

not similar to the mainstream media in many ways. It

is difficult to foresee or anticipate all stake

holders or their claims of legitimacy.

However  given the fact that a few of you have been in

the forefront of the movement and have reached this

significant threshold, may I suggest that you form an

CR association of India to begin with and prepare a

kind of document that lays down the purpose and

intentions of CR in India.

May I also suggest a kind of "community hearing"

process of any grievances or deviations from the

claims made by the CR station to get license in the

first place.

Good luck and best wishes

Leela Rao

- -- 

FN 9822122436 +91-832-240-9490 (phone calls after 1 pm please)

FLOSS, geeks, blogs:  [http://planet.foss.in/]

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

Message: 3

Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2006 04:45:49 +0530

From: "Frederick Noronha" 

Subject: [cr-india] Asia's doors open only very slightly to

      community radio

To: cr-india at sarai.net

Message-ID:

      <8ea78e010611291515t216db0ady34f6afd4b01828d8 at mail.gmail.com>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="WINDOWS-1252"; format=flowed

An April 2006 article... FN

- ---------- Forwarded message ----------

http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=5039236

Asia's doors open only very slightly to community radio

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- AMARC Asia-Pacific -

http://asiapacific.amarc.org/ - is part of an international

non-governmental organisation serving the community radio movement,

with almost 3,000 members and associates in 110 countries.

The goal of the "Association mondiale des radiodiffuseurs

communautaires (World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters,

AMARC) is to "support and contribute to the development of community

and participatory radio along the principles of solidarity and

international cooperation".

"AMARC Asia-Pacific was launched in February 2003 by the global

meeting, AMARC 8, in Kathmandu. That meeting decided to officially

establish AMARC Asia-Pacific," says Suman Basnet (37), AMARC

Asia-Pacific's regional coordinator, based in Kathmandu.

Adds Basnet, a former television man and documentary filmmaker

himself: "It took us all this time till November 2005 to meet in

Jakarta and do a regional assembly and elect the first official board

of the region."

AMARC's Asia-Pacific president is the Bangalore-based Ashish Sen,

whose non-governmental organisation, called VOICES, now an APC member,

has long been associated with the campaign for community radio in

India. (See https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/cr-india, a

mailing list that has been pressing for this).

Its deputy president is Sonia Randhawa from the Centre for Independent

Journalism in Malaysia. She has initiated a community radio station

that, due to difficulties in broadcasting from Malaysia, has set up

its transmitter in neighbouring Indonesia, broadcasting over

shortwave.

"There are some very progressive groups involved, and they also work

with migrant workers (in Malaysia)," Basnet says.

AMARC Asia-Pacific's treasurer Shane Elson, from Alternative Radio,

Australia, is also vice-president of the Community Broadcasters

Association in Australia (CBAA).

"Our office (in Kathmandu, Nepal) is very small. We have only three

people. A colleague who looks after finances, and a messenger, who

helps us with running around and cleaning," says Basnet.

But so far, AMARC Asia-Pacific has been able to mobilise nearly 200

members in the region. Basnet says the largest numbers, about 40, come

from Indonesia, with members in Australia, Fiji, thirteen in Nepal,

and three in the India and Bangladesh (VOICES, and two others), in a

region that has not been very conducive to the idea of community

radio, as Asia has long been accustomed to state-monopolised (and more

recently, commercialised) broadcasting.

AMARC Asia-Pacific accepts applications for two types of members.

Voting members are community radio stations or an organisation

earnestly planning to start such a station. Associate members are

those supporting the idea. The latter cannot vote.

How is a 'community radio' station defined?

"Community radio is a station that is governed by communities.

Governance, management and running of the station also belong to the

community. It is mostly volunteer-run and with very few paid staff."

Would they be open to networking with 'campus radio' stations, now

being set up in some larger educational centres in India, for

instance?

"Strictly speaking, these aren't community radio stations. But it

would be important to associate with them in a positive manner. They

would be welcome to join AMARC in its activities. This development has

to be seen in a positive light (at least as a starting point)," says

Basnet. "The policy to say either all (full-fledged community radio)

or nothing is not a good step."

There are many different concepts and names from the world of

community radio - community radio, rural radio, cooperative radio,

participatory radio, free radio, alternative, popular, educational

radio - so, what is it that makes a radio station a community radio

station?

AMARC quotes its members saying: Radio stations, networks and

production groups that make up the World Association of Community

Radio Broadcasters refer to themselves by a variety of names.

Practices and profiles are even more varied.

Some are musical; some are activist and some mix music and activism.

They are located in isolated rural villages and in the heart of the

largest cities in the world. Their signals may reach only a kilometre,

cover a whole country, or even be carried via shortwave to other parts

of the world.

Some stations are owned by not-for-profit groups or by cooperatives

whose members are the listeners themselves. Others are owned by

students, universities, municipalities, religious communities or trade

unions. There are stations financed by donations from listeners, by

international development agencies, by advertising, and even by

governments.

How does Basnet see the situation in the region, as far as community

radio or "CR" go?

"It varies a lot from country to country. There's still a huge

struggle (in the Asia-Pacific) for a community radio-friendly

atmosphere and enabling environment. Legislation is still largely not

in place," he adds. But airwaves are opening up in terms of

accessibility to citizens, in diverse ways.

In Indonesia, there are "hundreds and hundreds" of "pirate" stations.

Their number varies between 1,500 and 2,500. These are very small, and

no action has been taken against them. They exist in very far-flung

rural places. These are sometimes even little radio stations run by

farmers from little huts. Their antennas are homemade. Some are not

even recognisable as antennas.

In Thailand, you come across a similar situation. "Depends who you're

asking, they might number at as high as 500. Those are mostly not

registered," says Basnet. Thailand itself has two agencies - the

national ministry and district agencies - that can allow broadcasting.

Nobody knows how many permits have been given to broadcast.

Broadcast permits go to a range of diverse players. "For instance,

there's a little monastery that wants to put out a broadcast. But

there's huge confusion over spectrum management," Basnet observes.

In Indonesia, they have drafted legislation. Civil society and

government-sponsored agencies came up with their own versions of the

proposed law. This led to a huge debate as to which should be

recognised by the president.

Indonesia has its own home-grown and very strong tech culture.

"There's a very activist kind of atmosphere there. They tend to be

very charged-up people. I was told the government dare not touch them

(the 'pirate' broadcasters). They're firebrands who say, if the

authorities dare to shut any station, "We'll go and 'gherao'

(physically protest before) parliament."

"In South Asia, Nepal (which allowed the first airwaves in the

sub-continent, Radio Sagarmatha in 1997) was a pioneer. It still is

the only country with community radio stations, but these are greatly

challenged (under pressure from the monarchy, which has been clamping

down on the people's rights since early 2005). Now it's a pioneer in

showing how CR can be sustained even in a hostile atmosphere," says

Basnet.

Bangladesh has in place draft legislation on community radio, which

has been debated since 2003. It has NGOs and civil society groups like

the Bangladesh Network for Radio & Communication (BNNRC). VOICE and

others campaign over the issue.

Shifting to South Korea, which is the only country where community

radio is coming second to the internet! "It's a highly

internet-enabled country. There are some organisations such as the

MEDIACT, the South Korea Community Radio Research, the Korean

Association of Community Radio Broadcasting, and the Korean

Progressive Network 'Jinbonet' (APC member) that are very keenly

lobbying for CRs.

Finally, their government gave out five licences (in 2004) on a test

and experimental basis to five organisations. Transmission power was

very, very low. Less than 20 watts," says Basnet.

'Security' is still an issue in these parts of the globe. "Last year,

I was speaking to a Japanese friend. Their biggest struggle is to

increase transmission power from 2 to 10 watts. That would cover just

one building or maybe a single house," he says.

On Fiji, there is femLINKpacific, A Media Initiative for Women, which

runs THE community radio station 89.2 FM. femLINKpacific, also

operator of "suitcase radio", is keenly involved in promoting women in

broadcasting, and also works with AMARC around regulatory framework in

relation to community radio in the Pacific. It is election time in

Fiji, and 89.2 FM is speaking to lots of women, voters as well as

candidates, to get their opinions on priority matters for development.

"In the region, Australia is the best example of how community radio

can flourish. CBAA, the Community Broadcasters Association of

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