Deliberate Jamming of BBC Persian TV Continues from Within Iran

Saturday, 10 September 2011 13:02

Written by Newsdesk

The deliberate jamming of BBC Persian TV from within Iran has now moved to two different satellites for the first time. The Hotbird satellite has been targeted since July and now the Eutelsat W3A satellite is subject to interference.

Eutelsat, the satellite owner, has validated the geolocalisation of the source of the interference as being in Iran.

Both BBC and Eutelsat condemn this extensive and deliberate act that is contrary to international conventions for the use of satellites.

Peter Horrocks, Director BBC Global News, said: "We continue to work closely with Eutelsat and the international regulatory community to find means of countering this interference. It is well known that Iran are actively engaged in the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)'s Radio Regulations Board yet their fellow countrymen continue to flout the very conventions by which the industry operates.

"We call on those of influence to do all they can to impress upon Iran the illegal nature of the jamming and the need to cease this activity immediately."

Last year, the ITU Radio Regulations Board urged Iran to end interference hampering Eutelsat satellite operations.

BBC Persian TV continues to stream live online and on satellites T12 (15 degrees West) and EB2 (25.5 degrees East).

BBC Persian television launched in 2009 and has suffered similar deliberate attempts to interfere with its signal intermittently ever since.