A satellite provider for Voice of America and the BBC says broadcasts in the Middle East and Europe were deliberately jammed this week by interfering signals coming from Syria.
Many programs have been impacted, including some of VOA's foreign-language services and BBC television and radio services in English and Arabic.
The French-based satellite provider Eutelsat told VOA the disruptive interference emanated from Syria.
Vanessa O’Connor, a spokeswoman for Eutelsat, said “deliberate ... intermittent” satellite jamming of several international broadcasters has been detected since the beginning of this week. She said Eutelsat used “localization technology” to confirm that the source of the signal jamming was in Syria.
Deutsche Welle, a German state broadcaster that transmits Arabic-language programs via satellite to the Middle East, says Iran is behind the jamming efforts.
Eutelsat, a major satellite operator, beams more than 4,250 television channels to more than 200 million cable and satellite homes in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Transmitting an unauthorized signal on the same frequency as a valid program, and aimed directly at the satellite, can "jam" the program and block it from all viewers.
A BBC spokeswoman said earlier this week: “Deliberate interference such as the jamming of transmissions is a blatant violation of international regulations concerning the use of satellites, and we strongly condemn any practice designed to disrupt audiences’ free access to news and information.”
Both VOA and the BBC have experienced disruptions in recent years due to jamming that primarily was traced to Iran, which borders Syria and has supported the embattled Damascus regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
On Monday, Eutelsat stopped relaying Iranian state television channels by satellite after the European Union tightened sanctions against Tehran's controversial nuclear program.
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