DUSHANBE, April 13, Asia-Plus -- Tajikistan’s national radio will be shifted to digital broadcasting, Asadullo Rahmonov, Chairman of the Committee for TV and Radio-broadcasting, remarked at a news conference in Dushanbe on April 12.  

According to him, installation of digital switching and transmission equipment will be finished before May 20 and the radio will start broadcasting in digital format.  “It will allow improving the broadcasting quality 18 times,” Rahmonov said.

Rahmonov noted that $300,000 had been provided from the country’s budget for shifting the national radio to the digital technologies.  

The TV and radio-broadcasting committee head noted that the national budget annually provides some 13 million somonis for maintaining state-run TV and radio companies.  

On the issue of protection of the country’s information space and neighboring countries TV channels’ intruding in Tajikistan’s information space, Rahmonov confirmed that such cases have happened, especially in the northern province of Sughd, where some TV channels of neighboring Uzbekistan have broadcast over the border districts.    

“Recently, we detected a radio signal in the Uzbek language on the FM frequency 105.5 and appropriate measure were taken to jam this broadcast,” Rahmonov said.   

He added that there are no serious reasons for concern about threat to Tajikistan’s information space.  

Rahmonov also noted that it is planned to install new transmitting stations to improve broadcast of programs of the TV channel Safina and children’s TV channel Bahoriston in Gorno Badakhshan and Rasht Valley.  “50 stations will be installed for Safina channel and 25 for Bahoriston channel,” the TV and radio-broadcasting committee head said.