Talk Radio 702 shuts down its mediumwave transmitter

South African commercial broadcaster Talk Radio 702 has shut down its mediumwave transmitter in Ga-Rankuwa, and now broadcasts only on FM, though it continues to use its familiar name.

The station can now be heard on 92.7 MHz in Johannesburg and 106.0 MHz in Pretoria, as well as on the DSTV Audio Bouquet at channel 56.

The closure marks the end of the one-year period during which the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) allowed ‘double illumination’ on AM and FM.

Station Manager Pheladi Gwangwa said that the medium-wave transmitter, which belongs to transmission provider Sentech, was old and unreliable, and described it as a ‘dinosaur that was dying”.

Source: Media Network, bizcommunity.com