The past few days have seen Eutelsat accused of deliberately jamming its own satellite signals to prevent certain Farsi-language channels being picked up in Iran.

Eutelsat issued a strongly-worded denial of the accusations, saying: “Eutelsat categorically refutes recent reports that claim it is generating interference to its own satellites in order to prevent reception in Iran of international Farsi satellite channels. These allegations are in total contradiction with reality. They are also totally inconsistent with the statement issued in September by the BBC which associates Eutelsat with their renewed appeal for action by regulatory authorities to combat this violation of international rights.”

“Over more than two years Eutelsat has publicly condemned intentional jamming of its satellites by third parties, organised to prevent reception of international Farsi channels including BBC Persian, Voice of America and Deutsche Welle. We have identified the location of the jamming from within Iran, and since May 2009, have filed multiple complaints with the relevant French and international regulatory authorities to denounce hostile jamming operations and to prompt the International Telecommunication Union (a United Nations Agency) to address this illegal practice as a priority issue.”

Categories: Articles, DTH/Satellite