(Source: Southgate ARC)
Some inhabitants of French controlled Polynesia are unhappy at the switch over from Medium Wave AM to VHF FM broadcasting
Radio New Zealand reports Radio Polynesie Premiere switched to an all FM service at the beginning of December, leaving pockets of inhabitants in valleys and on remote atolls without any local radio service.
The broadcaster added five FM transmitters to its network of 48 to improve its reach but in an area the size of Europe, the signal fails to reach all communities.
Concern has been expressed that vital weather warnings are no longer heard.
The mayor of Makatea in the Tuamotus Julien Mai said there is a risk to public safety because people have always been advised to have an emergency kit that includes a radio when severe weather strikes.
Source:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/321809/loss-of-am-radio-irks-french-polynesia
I am afraid natural disasters are going to have to claim a lot of lives before governments wake up, particularly ones like Australia, who have apparently turned a naive eye toward the real dangers of depending on FM service. The money in question is paltry compared to what is surely a bloated government budget – even if not as badly bloated as ours in the U.S.
Of course, here I am preaching to the choir, and apparently people warning the ABC and ministries within the government are falling on deaf ears . . . .
Watching this is like watching a major accident in slow motion – you can’t stop it from happening, but you know it is imminent.