Over a hundred years ago Marconi discovered short wave broadcasting. Some people see it as an outdated technology in a world of burgeoning FM stations, the internet and cable and satellite TV. But is this true or does it still have advantages? Anthea McNeil investigates
“Don’t be fooled by the short in short wave,” says Tony Ford, Feba’s former Programming Consultant. “This type of broadcasting makes giant strides from transmitter to receiver.”
Radio Salesman
“Short wave radio beams go round the curvature of the earth,” adds Frequency Schedule Engineer Richard Whittington. “These ‘giant strides’ of short wave are known as ‘hops’and given the right frequency a one-hop broadcast can reach up to 2000 miles and two-hops, 4000 miles.”
a change in the media environmentVoices across boundaries
Few in the UK use short wave. Most of us can hear high quality FM radio from a wide choice of stations providing a breadth of news, information and entertainment – and in our own language! Tony comments that the story is very different elsewhere: “Survey results from Afghanistan indicate that almost exclusively Afghans use ‘foreign radio’ – that means short wave – to meet their need for news. Feba’s focus has been to reach countries that are difficult to enter with the Gospel. It might be hard for real people to enter some countries, but their voices can be heard talking about the Lord Jesus.”
so much short wave…becoming difficult to secure clear frequenciesChallenges thinking
Feba’s good friend Dr Graham Mytton, formerly in charge of audience research for the BBC World Service, says that countless surveys will show that people often choose short wave services because they are providing what is not being offered locally. He challenges the thinking that short wave is in decline because of technological advance. “FM is not new,” he says. “It has been around even in parts of Africa and Asia since the 1950s. What is new is a change in the media environment. Where there were previously widespread state monopolies in broadcasting, now we see thousands of private services on FM.”
The best of both
“FM, by its very nature, cannot be a simple replacement for short wave. Its reach is very limited,” Graham says. International and local broadcasts benefit listeners in different ways and can complement each other. 
Listeners in market
So short wave isn’t in decline – far from it. In fact Richard Whittington has a problem: “So much short wave broadcasting is taking place that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to secure clear frequencies for our broadcasts,” he says.
And Graham Mytton concludes: “Short wave will remain for a long time to come, the bedrock of international radio service delivery.”
Feba has short wave broadcasts on air in many different languages.