The Office of Engineering and Technical Services provides engineering and technological support to BBG staff and facilities in Washington, D.C. and abroad.

Engineering oversees a global network of over 80 transmitting sites delivering high frequency, medium wave (AM), FM, and TV broadcasts, and leases broadcast time at 23 transmitting facilities in 14 countries. The organization also provides anti-censorship support to overcome efforts by other governments to jam BBG broadcasts on radio, television, and the Internet.

To meet the needs of its varied broadcast customers, Engineering manages an extensive network of leased satellite and fiber optic circuits and other international telecommunications systems. Support also is provided to a worldwide array of hundreds of satellite receivers and earth stations.

Engineering enables the BBG to fulfill its mission by providing technical production support, by analyzing the best means to deliver BBG broadcast products, and by using innovative technologies to increase interaction between the BBG and its global audiences.

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

• Engineering overcame major logistical and security issues and dramatically improved broadcast coverage into the volatile border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan with the completion of a new 200 kW medium wave facility in Khost in March 2010.
• Engineering successfully confronted increased Iranian jamming of satellite, shortwave, medium wave, and Internet transmissions with added satellite channels and other anti-censorship techniques. These efforts proved particularly significant during the Iranian elections in 2009, and they continue today as Iran and other countries attempt to block BBG broadcasts.
• Using interactive video and IP connections to link remote studio locations in Cairo, Beirut, Jerusalem, and Dubai to the headquarters of the BBG’s Middle East Broadcast Networks in Virginia, Engineering established an innovative satellite video network to support Alhurra television’s daily 3-hour live Al Youm show.
• To further strengthen broadcast coverage into Iran and the Middle East, Engineering completed work at the Kuwait Transmitting Station on a high frequency rotatable antenna, the first of its kind in the BBG’s vast broadcast network. This state-of-the-art antenna enables the BBG to direct broadcasts more easily to intended audiences.