Innovative site build in Oman for BBC World Service
Babcock signed a £35 million contact with the BBC World Service to relocate its existing transmission facility on Masirah Island to a new site in Oman. This strategically important station provides both medium wave and shortwave coverage to audiences in India, the Middle East and Asia – covering 1/3 of the entire audience of the BBC World Service.
Coverage compromises were not an option during the project build and integration, and improved signal audibility was a key part of the requirement. The new site set in 12km square of desert, bound by sea on one side and populated by substantial rock formations gave rise to a uniquely demanding engineering challenge. The new facilities built by Babcock included two 800kW medium wave transmitters, three 250kW short wave transmitters and a rotatable HF antenna, as well as essential back up power generation capacity.