Developments at Nigeria's premier radio corporation, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), are fast transforming the staid image of Africa's largest radio network. In the past one year, Radio Nigeria has been quietly transforming itself with improved signals, captivating programming, web audio streaming, and, the latest, brand new transmitters at Kaduna and Enugu to be dedicated to the Educational Service. When completely installed in December 2008, the 200 kW mediumwave transmitter in Jaji, Kaduna, will be one of the most powerful radio transmitters in Africa, and, in combination with the 100KW transmitter planned for Enugu in 2009, the whole country and much of Africa will receive the signals. The transmitters, a grant from the Japanese Government, will be digital ready. The process of dismantling the gigantic, obsolete transmitter and its antennae component and installing the new one will take six months. To keep its Hausa language listeners during this transition, Radio Nigeria Kaduna recently commissioned a new Hausa language FM station in Kaduna. It also temporarily fixed its old shortwave channel [6090 kHz] on the 49 metre band. Karama FM, the call sign of the new FM station, and the shortwave station will both continue to carry Radio Nigeria's Hausa Service. (Media Network Blog)
