Progress in Gambia’s $12mn satellite TV upgrade

A new 100 metre television and radio tower, part of Gambia's ongoing US$12 million satellite communications project, will improve TV coverage between Bansang and Basse, according to Gambia Radio and Television Services (GRTS) executives. The 200m2 Basse Manneh Kunda site will house two television transmitters and three FM radio transmitters, with a standby generator to ensure continuous service, according to Bai Sanyang, director of engineering, GRTS. The large transmitter is intended to 'fill the gap' between Bansang and Basse, in the West African country's Upper River region. The regional governor, Omar Khan, has welcomed the satellite project, calling it 'timely'. Describing television as a very important tool for disseminating information, the governor said the satellite project would help expand current coverage, according to the Daily Observer. Led by the state broadcaster's director general Alhaji Momodou Sanyang, a GRTS delegation visited the site of the new transmission tower on 24 February, and also reportedly took in another of the project's sites in Kudang, in the Central region.