AMMAN - The Jordan Media City (JMC) said Monday Al Jazeera channel was moved to a different transponder after its signal was jammed as “it was targeted by the Libyan authorities”.

“The jamming caused the loss of 13 signals. Al Jazeera frequency is among a package of frequencies transmitted from the JMC, which also includes Jordan TV, Melody Aflam, Blue Nile and five other scrambled ART channels, among others,” JMC CEO Radi Alkhas told The Jordan Times yesterday.

He added the JMC addressed Al Jazeera headquarters in Qatar and asked them to move their frequency to a different transponder in order to restore the other channels, adding that Al Jazeera officials showed understanding and agreed to move to a frequency transmitted on Eutelsat.

So far, he said, there were no signs that the Libyan authorities stopped the jamming, even after Al Jazeera was moved.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the Arab broadcaster said on Monday that Libya’s intelligence agency is behind the powerful jamming that has disrupted its signal across much of the Middle East and North Africa

“The source of [the] signal blockage has been pinpointed to a Libyan intelligence agency building... south of the capital Tripoli,” said Al Jazeera.

Access to the network’s website continued to be blocked in Libya, the Qatar based broadcaster said in a statement, according to Reuters.

“The media should be able to operate freely, so all interference with our work and our broadcast signal should cease forthwith,” an Al Jazeera spokesperson said.

Jamming was being caused by large installations capable of simultaneously interfering with several frequencies on the Arabsat and Nilesat satellites, Al Jazeera said earlier.

The Qatar-based news channel’s signal was sporadically disrupted in countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt throughout Saturday, Reuters said.

The station reported the jamming on Friday on its website, where it offered alternative frequencies on the Arabsat, Nilesat and Hot Bird satellites.

Earlier this month, Egypt’s Nilesat cut off Al Jazeera’s signal for more than a week after authorities there ordered it to stop operations in Egypt during the unrest that ultimately ended president Hosni Mubarak’s 30-year rule.

Launched in 1996, Al Jazeera has more than 400 reporters in over 60 countries, according to its website. It says it can reach 220 million households in more than 100 countries.

www.jordantimes.com