Radio station petitions NCA

Akim Oda, Feb. 11, GNA - The Management of Radio BIYAC Company Limited, an Akim Oda-based FM station, has petitioned the National Communication Authority (NCA) to take the necessary steps to change the frequency of Sekyere FM station in order to avoid a possible litigation over the frequency.

In a petition signed by the Executive Director of the Company, Mr Baa Abora and copied to the press, he said it came to their notice that since November 2003, the NCA had allocated frequency 94.1 MHZ to Sekyere FM station located at Effiduase-Asokore in the Ashanti Region.

Mr Abora claimed that frequency 94.1 MHZ had already been legally and officially assigned to Radio BIYAC at Akim Oda, as far back as September, 1997.

"By this action you have caused great financial loss to BIYAC Company limited (Radio BIYAC) and enormous distress to our listeners in especially the Assin district in the Central Region, Adansi district plus part of Ashanti Region, including Konongo and parts of the Eastern Region."

The petition said that was so because "one could audibly hear two stations simultaneously on the frequency 94.1 MHZ when one happens to be in those areas depending on the airways pattern."

Mr Abora said what really baffled the mind was that not too long ago, officials from the NCA, came on a routine inspection at the Radio BIYAC station after which a letter was written to them claiming that "our frequency was over modulated and that listeners were not able to tune in to other stations at Akim Oda".

He said in the officers attempt to retune their transmitter, they "almost detuned it."

"Upon realizing that the transmitter was no longer transmitting, one of the officers went back into the transmitter room to tune it back on."

Mr Abora said he "personally found that very difficult to technically comprehend that a transmitter that was factory-tuned, tested and locked at 94.1 MHZ in the United Kingdom could be over modulated to 400 KHZ."

"And to add insult to injury, allocate the same frequency 94.1 MHZ to a new FM station by name 'Sekyere FM' just after this controversial inspection and retuning exercise".

The petition questioned why only 94.1 MHZ was given to Sekyere FM and not any other frequency.

Copies of the petition were also sent to the Minority Leader in Parliament, National Security Co-coordinator, Office of the President of Ghana, Osu Castle, Mr Yaw Osafo Marfo, MP for Akim Oda and Majority Leader in Parliament.