Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)

Botswana: GABZ FM Goes Global

As the popular stand up comedian, Michael Morapedi, who goes by trademark "Dignash", would love it to be known, the first privately-owned radio station Gabz fm will not wait to go national when it can easily go global.

On Friday, the adult biased and contemporary radio station defied the odds by being the first station in the country to go global, through the launch of their world-wide website - www.gabzfm.com. The station had long applied to the licensing authorities requesting to be granted a licence to broadcast nation-wide but that is yet to be honoured.

Manager of the station, Kennedy Otsheleng said at the launch that the station developed the website after he conducted an informal survey, the outcome of which was that a lot of the station's listeners are "a sophisticated listenership that travels a lot to other countries and their biggest regret is that they would miss Gabz fm" hence the construction of the website. He said the development of the website should not only be viewed as an achievement on the part of the station but for the country as that develops the information technological advancement of the country. The station had moved from the telestrial media stream to the internet.

"We have had the creativity to venture into un-chartered waters," he said, for which he credits his staff. He said the station, in its construction of the website, used the latest available technology in the country. Otsheleng said as long as someone has a proper cellular connection (gsm), they can always be connected to the internet and ultimately their website. The website launch coincides with the celebration of the station's 6th anniversary.


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