That’s why theBBC has resurrected its SW broadcaststo Ukraine and Russia this week.
Russia understands the importance of free news.
Last week it attacked Kyiv’s main radio and TV tower.
Kypros / Getty Images
But the BBC’s broadcasts will be harder to stop.
The waves are reflected by the Earth’s ionosphere and can therefore travel beyond the horizon.
In 2008, theBBC stopped broadcasting shortwave to Europe, because it was redundant.
Jan Huber / Unsplash
Anyone in Europe could listen on FM, satellite radio, or online.
Cameras, radios, video calls, TV shows and movies, gamesall of it is digital or digitized.
The consolidation is convenient, but it is not necessarily robust or easy to deploy.
Sometimes, older technologies can do better.
For instance, SMS messages can be carried over regular cellular networks without any internet data capabilities.
A receiving camera translates the flashes back into text.
It’s Morse code without having to memorize the dots and dashes.
FLTC can be used when radio and other communications are down.
And Morse isstill taught to US Navy sailors, so there’s always a backup option on hand.
That’s not to say the internet doesn’t have some tricks of its own.
In 2019, the BBC made theWorld Service available on the TOR internet.
Try that with an iPhone.
