Chronicle Editor
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
THE country is likely to see the introduction of more radio stations following the regaining of the country’s satellite resources as well as the optimisation of FM bands at the just ended International Telecommunication Union (ITU) World
Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) 2023 in Dubai.
This is expected to further enhance the digitalisation agenda of the country towards the attainment of Vision 2030.
The WRC is held every three to four years to review, and, if necessary, revise radio regulations, the international treaty governing the use of the radio-frequency spectrum and the geostationary-satellite and non-geostationary-satellite orbits.
Revisions are made on the basis of an agenda determined by the ITU Council, which takes into account recommendations made by previous world radio communication conferences.
This year’s conference which was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates ended on Friday with the Zimbabwe delegation led by the Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Postal and Courier Service Dr Tatenda Mavetera.
In a telephone interview with Sunday News from Dubai, Dr Mavetera said the regaining of satellite resources came in handy as they would enhance the country’s digitalisation agenda.
“We are attending the WRC which is the biggest body where the allocation of the spectrum is determined. It is exciting to note that one of the major wins that we are celebrating is that we are among 31 countries who managed to regain our satellite resources. Our resources were being occupied by other countries and this big win means that our digitalisation agenda has been enhanced.
“In terms of network coverage, it will enhance our efforts to bridge the digital divide. This gives us an opportunity for us to improve our digital landscape, enhance our penetration to those areas which were not covered,” said Dr Mavetera.
She said the country will also benefit from the optimisation of FM bands to extend frequencies and allow other countries to extend radio services into the country.
“There was also the optimisation of FM bands where you will realise that any country which would want to extend and have new radio stations coming through was a problem because they did not have the spectrum to do that. As such, the optimisation means that we can now easily cross the border to other countries unlike before when we had limited frequencies,” said Minister Mavetera.
The development comes at a time the Government is working towards the Digitalisation 2030 agenda that seeks to digitalise the country in line with Vision 2030.–@nyeve14
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