Communications and information technology company Harris Corp. said it will provide a range of broadcast transmitters to Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture and Information as part of the country's move to modernize its TV and radio infrastructure. The company said the new TV transmitters are an important element of Saudi TV and Radio's plan to upgrade its TV infrastructure to digital. To support the upgrading of its network, the ministry chose a wide range of Harris transmitters: 21 AM radio transmitters, including 3DX(R) digital solid-state transmitters; 40 FM radio transmitters, including the ZX(R) range of low-power transmitters; and 36 TV transmitters, including Atlas(TM) digital solid-state air-cooled transmitters. These transmitters have been deployed across multiple Saudi TV and Radio facilities to allow for the broadcast of audio and TV programs terrestrially throughout the kingdom. The new TV transmitters are an especially critical element of Saudi TV and Radio's program to upgrade its television infrastructure to digital. Four DVB-T transmission sites have already gone live this year with Harris transmitters. “We selected Harris transmitters because they provided the highest quality in terms of technology and reliability, as well as reduced operating costs,” said Dr. Riyadh Najm, deputy minister of engineering affairs, at the ministry. “This project at Saudi TV is another good example of the ability of Harris to handle large, country-wide terrestrial roll-outs,” said Richard Scott, vice president, Europe, the Middle East and Africa operations for Harris Broadcast Communications. “With our experience, broad product portfolio across all major standards, and manufacturing capacities, Harris is the ideal choice for terrestrial network deployments.” There are four TV channels (operating in both terrestrial and via satellite) and four radio channels (operating in FM and AM frequency bands). In order to cover the whole country terrestrially, the ministry has about 20 medium-wave transmission stations, as well as about 130 TV and FM transmission stations of different power levels.
