WorldSpace's AfriStar control center in Washington, D.C.

WorldSpace is the world's first digital satellite radio network. It covers parts of Asia and Europe plus all of Africa by satellite. The company is also licensed to serve South America and Central America, but services for those regions have not been launched yet. In the United States, some WorldSpace channels, such as "The System" and "U-Pop" are carried on XM Satellite Radio, "WorldZone" and "Ngoma" are no longer available on XM's satellites. Major content partners include BBC, NPR, CNN, Virgin Radio, Fox News and Bloomberg. Many channels are free of advertising, and they are known for high quality programs with "near CD quality" audio. The control room of WorldSpaces Afristar satellite, in Washington DC. Picture taken by James Cridland, May 2004. ... The control room of WorldSpaces Afristar satellite, in Washington DC. Picture taken by James Cridland, May 2004. ... Nickname: the District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Official website: http://www. ... A satellite radio or subscription radio (SR) is a digital radio that receives signals broadcast by communications satellite, which covers a much wider geographical range than normal radio signals. ... See also: Asian and Eurasian World map showing Asia. ... World map showing Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is conventionally considered one of the seven continents which, in this case, is more a cultural and political distinction than a physiogeographic one. ... A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Commonly, Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ... XM Satellite Radio NASDAQ: XMSR is a satellite radio (DARS) service in the United States and Canada based in Washington, DC and controlled by News Corporations DirecTV, General Motors, American Honda, Hughes Electronics, and several private investment groups. ... Corporate logo of the British Broadcasting Corporation. ... NPR logo For other meanings of NPR see NPR (disambiguation) National Public Radio (NPR) is a private, not-for-profit corporation that sells programming to member radio stations; together they are a loosely organized public radio network in the United States. ... The Cable News Network, usually referred to as CNN, is a cable television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld [1] [2] (although the latter is not currently recognized in CNNs official history). ... Virgin Radio is a British commercial music radio station based in London. ... Fox News Channels slogan is We Report, You Decide The Fox News Channel is a U.S. cable and satellite news channel. ... Bloomberg L.P. is a Financial Media Company founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1982. ... Generally speaking, advertising is the promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas, usually by an identified sponsor. ... Interference colors. ...

JVC, XM Radio, Hitachi, and Panasonic are manufacturers selling WorldSpace digital satellite radios. A consumer's radio consists of a satellite receiver plus an antenna that has to be placed in clear view of the relevant satellite (so-called "line of sight"), oriented in a certain azimuth and elevation (depending upon the geographic location). Most of the channels are available only by subscription, but a few are free: the BBC's African channels and RFI, for example. JVC, or Japan Victor Company (日本ビクター株式会社) (TYO: 6792) is a Japanese consumer electronics corporation based in Yokohama, Japan which was founded in 1927. ... XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR) is a satellite radio service in the United States based in Washington, DC and controlled by News Corporations DirecTV, General Motors, American Honda, Hughes Electronics, and several private investment groups. ... Hitachi Ltd. ... Panasonic is principal sponsor of the Toyota F1 team Panasonic was also the name of a road bicycle racing team and a Finnish electronic music duo. ... A yagi antenna Most simply, an antenna (U.S.) or aerial (UK) is an electronic component designed to transmit or receive radio waves. ... Azimuth is the horizontal component of a direction (compass direction), measured around the horizon toward the East, i. ...

Coverage.

There are currently two satellites in use, AfriStar and AsiaStar. AfriStar serves Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, while AsiaStar serves most of South Asia and overlaps in the Mideast. Plans to launch a third satellite, Ameristar, to serve South America were not carried out as the frequencies used by WorldSpace (L band) are commandeered by the United States Air Force. Each satellite provides three transmission beams that can support 50 channels each, carrying news, music, entertainment, and education, and including a computer multimedia service. Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... Image File history File links This work is copyrighted. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aviation branch of the United States armed forces. ...

WorldSpace has worked with Thomson Broadcast to introduce a village communications center known as a Telekiosk to bring communications services to rural areas. The Telekiosks are self-contained and are available as fixed or mobile units. The telekiosk can be considered the technical successor to the telephone booth, a publicly accessible set of devices that are used for communication. ...

WorldSpace Foundation started off with the aim of improving literacy in Africa, and is providing content through satellite to smaller community radio stations in the continent. WorldSpace Foundation has changed its name to First Voice International.

On August 4, 2005 WorldSpace offered its IPO on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. It closed at the end of the first day of trading at $22.36 a share.

Just four days later, the Wall Street Journal published “WorldSpace Risk: Disputed Terror Ties Follow Key Backers.” The reference alludes to WorldSpace Corporation’s financial underwriters among the Saudi royal family, which [reportedly] has invested more than $2.5 billion in the start-up stages alone. The following day, August 9, online investment news site The Motley Fool ran the first of several articles ("Terrorist In Your Portfolio?") critical of WorldSpace’s corporate practices and out-of-this-world claims. In "A Stellar Way to Lose Money," after looking at the dismal performance after five years to establish an audience for AsiaStar broadcasting in India, the article concludes: The Wall Street Journal is an influential international daily newspaper published in New York City, New York with an average daily circulation of 1,800,607 (2002). ... The Motley Fool is a group of financial mavens founded in August 1994 in the USA by brothers Tom Gardner and David Gardner, who parlayed their investment newsletter into a content partnership with America Online service. ...

“If you enjoy companies that pay management at a rate of 2.5 times your company's entire revenue, burn cash like crazy, but have a story that sounds good until you listen closely, this may be the stock for you. Knock yourself out. If you're looking for a good investment, look elsewhere.” Just four months after its IPO, establishing a share value of $22.36, WorldSpace was trading at $12.28 (NASDAQ: WRSP). NASDAQ (originally an acronym for National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is a U.S. electronic stock market. ...

WorldSpace Corporation’s first satellite, AfriStar, fares far better with African audiences, due in large part to the effectiveness of WorldSpace Foundation in promoting the “information empowerment” potential of satellite radio broadcasting in developing nations. Of AfriStar’s “80+” channels, WorldSpace dedicates four to programming on fundamental themes of development, broadcast with “near FM quality” in colonial languages to rural emerging cultures across the continent (the African continent has 1,350 indigenous languages). The Digital Divide Network reports, “Currently, the ALC (Africa Learning Channel) has an estimated audience of 1.2 million based on reports from partners in 21 African countries in which close to 1000 receivers have been placed.” At 1,200 listeners per radio unit – or reading those numbers differently, perhaps just 57 listeners per radio – the Foundation’s efforts are making terrific inroads into not just “improving literacy in Africa,” but also health, education and peace. Development has meaning in several contexts: Science and Engineering Biological development of embryos in the context of developmental biology Child development (physical emphasis) or post-natal human development (pediatrics, etc) Software engineering, the methodology and process of development of computer software Technology development in industry, as in Software development New... In general, the word colonial means of or relating to a colony. In United States history, the term Colonial is used to refer to the period before US independence. ... The EDC Center for Media & Community in Newton, Massachusetts produces and coordinates the Digital Divide Network (DDN). ...

Credit for the success of WorldSpace Foundation’s efforts lies squarely with its oft-called “visionary” founder and corporate CEO, Noah Samara. Renowned as a man of profound conviction and humility, Mr. Samara throughout the 1990s was ever on-the-wing promoting his bold double-pronged concept for global broadcasting. “In Africa, information is scarce. So our project makes great business sense. I can make a lot of money and do a lot of good,” he told Reuters in October, 1998 – a theme echoed in virtually all Mr. Samara’s many media encounters in the Corporation’s start-up era. A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. ... Reuters Group plc LSE: RTR NASDAQ: RTRSY is best known as a news service that provides reports from around the world to newspapers and broadcasters. ...

WorldSpace’s strategies for receiver distribution include enlisting the assistance of governments, UN agencies, non-governmental organizations and private donors. WorldSpace’s development partners are the bedrock of the Corporation’s efforts to build a commercial audience and “information affluence” in Africa are its development partners. An early and ardent promoter for WorldSpace in development circles, the UN Economic Commission for Africa invited the WorldSpace chief executive to address the [Africa Development Forum] (ADF), in October 1999. Tackling the theme of “The Challenge to Africa of Globalization in the Information Age,” the ECA reported Mr. Samara’s address alongside the remarks of top UN officials, writing “Mr. Samara explained that it was in part the desire to stem HIV/AIDS that motivated him to start WorldSpace.” A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an organization which is not a part of a government. ... The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA or ECA) was established in 1958 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states. ... Globalization is the term used to describe the changes in societies and the world economy that result from dramatically increased international trade and cultural exchange. ... Information Age is a term applied to the period where movement of information became faster than physical movement, more narrowly applying to the 1980s or 1990s onward. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

For further reference on WorldSpace Foundation’s successes read the “award winning” article, The Bankilare Project, by WorldSpace vice-president Rose Tchwenko, at Digital Divide Network and the First Voice International websites. The EDC Center for Media & Community in Newton, Massachusetts produces and coordinates the Digital Divide Network (DDN). ... WorldSpaces AfriStar control center in Washington, D.C. WorldSpace is the worlds first digital satellite radio network. ...

External links

• WorldSpace Inc
• First Voice International (formerly WorldSpace Foundation)
• Orbitcast.com - All Things Satellite Radio
• The Digital Divide Network
• The Motley Fool
• Wired