Serving Through Satellite Radio

Going where no ministry has gone before, Faith Satellite Radio is taking the gospel to the ends of the earth by first taking it into space.

WASHINGTON (Catholic Online) - Imagine being a part of a small Catholic parish in central Africa where normal means of communication is not available. After Mass, your pastor assembles the group and turns on a small portable radio. Suddenly, programming from Vatican Radio in Rome comes out of the speakers.

Faith Satellite Radio™ is the only faith-based satellite radio service covering both Africa, and Europe. Using the WorldSpace Satellite Radio Network's AfriStar™ satellite to broadcast digital-quality audio channels to the faith communities in Africa and around the world, programming from Vatican Radio is now available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in areas formerly untouched with Catholic communications.

Teaming up with SIGNIS, the world Catholic Association for Communication, Faith Satellite Radio is able broadcast to 31 countries in Africa, in addition to Europe. Using a specialized radio that includes technology to lock onto the signal from AfriStar™, interference-free digital audio is available satellite-direct.

While anyone within the coverage pattern of the satellite service can listen to programming using the special Faith Satellite Radio receiver, the company is inviting those from the western Hemisphere to participate by adopting a parish in Africa in order to supply them with a portable radio.

In a statement concerning their service, Faith Satellite Radio states, "Radio is still the most widespread electronic communications device in the world and a unique means of reaching the world's poorest communities. Community radio broadcasting, in particular, is increasingly recognized as an important bridge across the digital divide between those who have access to the world's information resources and those who do not."

The broadcasts will be available in 9 different languages throughout the African continent. The languages to be included are: English, French, Kiswahili, Amharic- Tigrinya, Arabic, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.

In addition to programming, each Faith Satellite Radio™ is equipped with a data port that transforms it into a wireless modem able to download data to personal computers, which allows the distribution of additional multimedia content.

SIGNIS, The World Catholic Association for Communication, came into being in November 2001, with the merger of Unda (the International Catholic Association for Radio and Television) and OCIC (International Catholic Organization for Cinema and Audiovisual). Both Unda and OCIC trace their origins back to 1928. SIGNIS is a non-governmental organization that includes members from more than 120 countries and 28 international organizations, bringing together radio, television, cinema, video, media education, Internet, and new technology professionals from across the globe.

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For more information about Faith Satellite Radio, please visit their website at http://www.faithsatelliteradio.org.

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