STATEMENT BY THE PS MOCIIT
ON THE LAUNCHING OF GRTS SATELLITE DISTRIBUTION NETWORK,
25TH MAY 2009 BY HE, THE PRESIDENT, PROF ALHAJI DR. YAHYA A.J.J. JAMMEH

A'oozu Billahi Minash Shaytanir Rajeem,

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim, Alhamdulillaahi Rabbil Aalamin

Your Excellency, the President,

Professor Sheikh Alhaji Dr. Yahya A. J . .J Jammeh

Your Excellency, the Vice President, Ajaratou Dr. Isatou Njai-Saidy

My Lord the Chief Justice

Hon. Speaker of the National Assembly

Hon. Ministers

Dean of the Diplomatic Corp

Members of the National Assembly

Representative of RSI, Mr. Loum Jagne

Colleague Permanent Secretaries

Managing Directors and Heads of Institutions

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

All other Protocols respectfully observed

Mr. Chairman, I stand here today with profound feeling of satisfaction in yet another milestone in the annals of socio-economic development of our great country.

Mr. Chairman, Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, in this present day and age, it is important to have an efficient way of distribution of TV and Radio signals in order to disseminate messages to the widest possible audience and to bridge the vast distances that separate the world's populations and Gambians in the Diaspora.

This means that we must have access to a satellite broadcast system so that our TV and Radio programmes, which include commercials, news, documentaries and other features, can be beamed to just about any corner of the globe. It has become evident that satellite television and radio broadcasting would transform how information could be distributed and consumed.

Your Excellency, with your initiative, the Ministry of Communications, Information and Information Technology, relentlessly worked with GRTS through solid support from the Office of The President to realize this dream of a Radio and Television Satellite Distribution Network.

Mr. Chairman, t his satellite broadcast facility for the Gambia Radio and Television Services, will immensely contribute towards His Excellency's efforts in making the Gambia a city state.

The project, which cost about 9.5million US Dollars, consists of this dish which transmits GRTS signals to the satellite, plus ground equipment, outside broadcast vans for TV and Radio, a virtual studio among others, is one more of the many projects of His Excellency, the President, Professor Sheikh Alhaji Dr. Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh .

The signals are free to air reception and viewers can use the 1.8m dish to receive signals from the satellite. The project also involves the upgrading of the terrestrial TV network with the installation of new 5KW transmitters in Abuko, Kudang, Mansa Konko, Basang, and Basse. Viewers can still use their (ordinary) yagi antennas to receive GRTS signals. New FM transmitters will also be installed to provide nation wide FM coverage.

Your Excellency, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, this magnificent dish we see before us here, is 7.3m in diameter and points towards Intelsat Satellite 901, (IS 901) 18 degrees west.

The technical information required to tune GRTS from IS 901 is:

Frequency: 4140.3 MHz on C Band Global

Symbol Rate: 3.5 Mb/s

Frequency Error Correction (FEC) ¾

Video PID: 33

Audio PID: 36

Undoubtedly, this has created new challenges - great ones for that matter which GRTS has to face. It is therefore incumbent on the management of GRTS and each and every member of staff to work much harder in order to cope with these new challenges. You are selling the Gambia to the outside world and we, the Gambian people expect that in the process of selling us, we are presented in a highly professional manner. This means that, GRTS should use a whole nexus of best practices in television production.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to assure you that the contractor of this Satellite Project, RSI, has a wealth of experience in the deployment of complex telecommunications, radio and television networks in every region of the World and have out-performed themselves in the execution of this project, even by their own standards.

I would, at this juncture, take this opportunity to thank His Excellency the President Professor Sheikh Alhaji Yahya A J J Jammeh, for the foresight and for being instrumental in the realization of this magnificent project. I would also like to thank the Director General of GRTS, Alhaji Momodou Sanyang and his staff who worked tirelessly towards the realization of this project. Finally, I would like to thank RSI for their hard work and for also completing this phase of the project on target.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I wish to take this opportunity on my behalf, and on behalf of the Ministry of Communications, Information and Information Technology and institutions under the Ministry, in wishing His Excellency, Professor Sheikh Alhaji Dr. Yahya A J J Jammeh, a HAPPY BIRTH DAY and many, many, many more to come.