Luanda – Angola´s national public radio station (RNA) plans to soon implement a technical and technological modernisation plan to improve its services, in particular the switch from analogue to digital system, said Thursday, in Luanda Province, the company's CEO, Pedro Cabral.
Speaking to ANGOP in the scope of the 46th anniversary of the public radio station, marked this Thursday (5), the manager said the RNA also plans to expand its broadcasting network.
Without naming the provinces that will benefit from this first phase of modernisation, Pedro Cabral explained that the first steps have already been taken to modernise the studios, which will now have cutting-edge technological equipment.
"We're going to move from analogue to digital, so that this change can be completed. We already have teams prepared for the training process”, he said, adding that the aim is to achieve 100% coverage nationwide.
RNA is made up of Canal A, Radio N´Gola Yetu, Radio Luanda, Radio FM Estéreo, Radio 5, Radio Cazenga, Radio Escola and Radio Viana, 18 regional stations with one in each province and one international radio station named International Service.
It also has a transmitter network that allows the radio station to cover all the country with 61 FM frequencies (mainly for big cities), 23 frequencies of medium waves and 10 frequencies on shortwave and it controls 30 transmission centers and a training center.
As a public service, RNA aims to guarantee freedom of speech and the right to inform and broadcast different aspects of the Angolan people.
Most of the radio broadcasts are in Portuguese and there are also programmes in native languages such as Kimbundo, Tchokwe, Umbundo, Cuanhama, Herero, Ganguela and Nhaneca, as well as programmes broadcast in English and French through the International Service.
History
Broadcasts by Angolan public radio stations began on an experimental basis around 1951, but it was only on 1 January 1955 that the Portuguese government put the station into operation. Until 1964, it was part of the organisational structure of the Post, Telegraph and Telephone Company (CTT), methodologically until 1970, and then moved to the Angolan Information and Tourism Centre (CITA).
On 8 December 1975, with less than a month as an independent nation, the Angolan government made nationalised the station and created the Radiodifusão Nacional de Angola (National Broadcasting of Angola), thus the radion was named Angola´s National Radio (with the acronym "RNA") and the slogan "From Luanda, capital of the People's Republic of Angola, Angola´s National Radio Station broadcasts, in a connection with the entire national broadcaster network”.
RNA workers were honoured with a visit from the first President of the Republic of Angola, António Agostinho Neto, on 5 October 1977. A year later, at a workers' assembly, they approved a motion that established the date of President Neto's visit to the broadcaster as the RNA day, that is, the public radio’s official foundation and anniversary celebration date.
LIN/ART/MRA/jmc
