A new shortwave transmitter for Radio New Zealand – PI4RAZ

While many shortwave stations are calling it quits, a brand new 100kW transmitter began broadcasting its signals across the Pacific this month, and Radio New Zealand has entered a new era of commitment to serving its shortwave listeners.

Radio New Zealand, one of only two countries still providing shortwave radio services to the Pacific, has replaced its 33-year-old transmitter in the central North Island with a new one that operates digitally via DRM and analogue. The move is part of the public broadcaster’s $4.4 million investment in facility improvements.

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters was quoted by the Radio World website as saying that shortwave has played an important role since its inception in 1948. He said: “Shortwave is the definitive system we can go through in a crisis, tsunami or hurricane.” The minister marked the launch of the channel with dignitaries from the shortwave region comprising the Cook Islands, Samoa, Fiji, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. RNZ’s 22 broadcast partners use digital DRM streams to rebroadcast locally without compromising audio quality.

After Australia shut down its shortwave transmitters in 2017, only two countries, New Zealand and China, provided shortwave services to the region.

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