Whatever Happened To Shortwave Radio?

Shortwave radio - where the wavelengths of the signal being broadcast are between 10m and 80m - was an important technology between the 1960s and the 1990s. However, its significance diminished as digital media platforms, especially the internet, became ubiquitous.

Shortwave radio's significance was largely due to its ability to be broadcast over extremely long distances. Signals bounce off charged particles in the ionosphere, allowing them to travel to the far side of the planet without the need for hundreds of transmitters. This is why shortwave broadcasts have played an important role in the dissemination of information during wartime.

A rebirth of the technology may now be taking place - with a digital twist.

"In South Africa, we have never used shortwave even though it gives you the ability to transmit over long distances," said Mark Willams, a broadcasting industry veteran and presenter at LM Radio . No local broadcasters used shortwave, but that didn't stop South Africans from tuning in to international broadcasts, including VoA, the BBC World Service and Radio France Internationale.

"Shortwave and medium wave radio is expensive to transmit, and the technology took a back seat to FM because of FM's superior quality. Later, new broadcast media such as the internet also took precedence."