The US Broadcasting Board of Governors has a plan to boost reception of TV Marti in Cuba. This follows the recent spat over alleged Cuban interference with Us broadcasts to Iraq.
Said BBG chairman Tomlinson: “We have been working diligently to strengthen the signals of Radio and TV Marti, to allow the people of Cuba access to uncensored news and information. As part of this effort, I am pleased to announce that we will soon undertake testing to see if TV Marti can be sent to the Cuban people by satellite. This would allow viewers in Cuba to receive the TV Marti signal via state of the art satellite technology through free-to-air reception. Free-to-air means that the satellite signal is not encrypted and can be viewed by anyone with a dish and an ordinary digital receiver. Radio Marti’s signal would also be included in the transmission.
“Hispasat will provide a powerful signal with a footprint that fully covers all of Cuba and nearly all of Latin America. Satellite receivers now on the island that are able to receive direct-to-home, free-to-air can be easily tuned to receive the signal. According to various commercial sources, satellite dishes are being used by more and more Cubans, and the numbers continue to rise