Jordan Times
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
3 new FM stations to hit
the airwaves
By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN — Three newly licensed radio stations will soon start broadcasting in the Amman area, joining the Kingdom's five public and private FM stations already on the air.
Audiovisual Commission (AVC) Director General
Hussein Bani Hani, on Sunday signed three agreements granting the companies
licences to start broadcasting on the FM frequency, the Jordan News Agency,
Petra, reported.
The first agreement, signed with the owner of AmmanNet, Daoud Kuttab, grants the
station a 10-year licence.
“The station will focus on community affairs including social, municipal,
cultural, and sports issues in the capital. Our station will encourage
interactivity and be dedicated completely to local issues,” Kuttab told The
Jordan Times. The station, set to broadcast its programmes in Arabic on
924-megahertz frequency, will not broadcast political programmes or news, he
added.
Kuttab said experimental transmission would begin in late April, with actual
broadcasting starting by the middle of May. AmmanNet was established in 2000
under the sponsorship of UNESCO and the Greater Amman Municipality. Since then,
it has grown to become a voice for independent Arab broadcasting. The second
agreement was signed with Arab Media Network Company Director Tareq Abu Lughod,
licensing the company's radio station, Mazaj.
Mazaj, which will be broadcast on the 953-megahertz frequency in the Amman area,
started experimental transmission yesterday. Sawt Al Ghad (Voice of the Future),
the third new FM station, owned by the Jordan International Company for
Transmission, started experimental transmission a week ago. Actual broadcasting
is expected to begin within the next few days.
The launch of the new FM stations comes after the introduction of the Audio
Visual Media Law, and the creation of the AVC in 2002.
The law eliminated public sector domination of the radio and TV industry,
opening the door for private entrepreneurs. In May 2004, all music station MOOD
FM was launched and in October another radio station, Play 99.6 FM started
operations.