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Iran interferes with German news satellite

Published: 2 Jan 10 11:55 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20100102-24309.html

The German state foreign broadcasting network Deutsche Welle (DW) was the target of a deliberate jamming signal originating in Iran, according to a report in news magazine Der Spiegel.

According to the report, the French national radio regulatory agency Agence Nationale des Fréquences wrote to the Iranian Ministry of Communication saying that on December 7 and December 8 signals had been detected that looked like "deliberate interference" with the DW satellite.

The affected satellite was the Hot-Bird satellite belonging to Eutelsat. The satellite operators apparently reacted to the disturbance by increasing the broadcasting power, whereupon the disturbance signal was also strengthened, cutting out an Arabian language TV broadcast from DW.

The origin of the disturbance was traced to the area of Tehran. Similar disturbances coming from Iran were already detected by the French authority in May and June 2009.

The Local (news@thelocal.de)

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Your comments about this article:

#1
14:14 January 2, 2010 by Frenemy
@IRGC Cyberwarfare Division: You guys are tactically primitive beyond belief!!
Report abuse »
#2
16:01 January 2, 2010 by Jibzy
I agree with Trek. Why would Iran try to mess with DW or Germany in any way? There's no motive. They'd rather shoot-down/mess-up Israeli satellites. No?
Report abuse »
#3
18:27 January 2, 2010 by Henckel
No, they hate all Westerners, not just the pro-Western Israelis. And I should stipulate that it's the Iranian leadership that wants to take action against the West; the average Iranian tends to be pro-Western, as seen in the pro-democracy rallies and riots of the past six months. They feel they've had more than enough of theocratic rule.
Report abuse »
#4
01:19 January 3, 2010 by Fredfeldman
I think its obvious that the current regime in Iran is trying to arrange a confrontation with the West in any way it can to try to squelch Iran's internal opposition. A fracas over a satellite is a cheap way of doing that if the resulting international outcry is big enough.
Report abuse »
#5
03:39 January 3, 2010 by CalBill
And just what should we expect from a totalitarian Islamist state? If they're willing to arrest, torture,rape and kill their own citizens while suppressing legitimate news coverage by anyone (domestic or foreign), then we can't be surprised by this. This is a midevil regime with 21st century technology -- can't think of anything more dangerous on the planet.
Report abuse »
#6
15:10 January 3, 2010 by Frenemy
Fredfeldman and Henckel...you're both absolutely correct!

(Unfortunately, the most pragmatic solution is both distasteful and morally horrendous...)
Report abuse »
#7
18:24 January 3, 2010 by wenddiver
There lucky they pulled that stunt in Germany, stopping the TV signal in the US would aaken a whole nation of TV Zombies, who wouldbe screaming for their heads as ashtrays.
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#8
00:42 January 4, 2010 by sc123
i hope Iran goes to war with the west and let those idiots know who's boss
Report abuse »
#9
07:43 January 4, 2010 by Frenemy
People who are eager to go to war have never seen combat. Please do not hope/wish things upon those of us who will actually pay the price. In the mean time, I suggest you read some Ernest Hemingway...
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#10
16:09 January 4, 2010 by deadringer
Not quite sure why there's a picture of a model of the ESA gamma-ray astronomy satellite at the head of the article, though. see http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Integral/SEMEO5T1VED_1.html#subhead2

Hotbird looks more like this:

http://www.eutelsat.com/satellites/hot-bird.html
Report abuse »
#11
16:37 January 4, 2010 by Henckel
@ Frenemy: I'd rather read J.R.R. Tolkien. The Orcs are far scarier than anything in a real war -- I hope!
Report abuse »
#12
17:04 January 4, 2010 by lordwilliams629
I wonder if you can see a 275 pound beast eating at the table with that satellight, whats your opinion frenemy?
Report abuse »
#13
18:32 January 4, 2010 by Frenemy
@lordwilliams: I'm not responding to your absurdities, but I'll have you know that my 85lb blonde fiancee is hella pissed at you right now (I'll let you two sort it out) lol
Report abuse »
#14
13:18 January 5, 2010 by tereze
Exactly such situation presently comes of kazakh telechannel K+, which broadcasts with russian satellite Yamal-201, who owner is Gazprom. Since October 2009 on present time telecasts to this companies have the strong hindrance, the source which is supposedly found in Kazakhstan.
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