VOA Is Shuttering Its Marianas Shortwave Site

The Voice of America is shuttering its Robert E. Kamosa Transmitting Station in the Northern Mariana Islands.

The move was reported by local media in the U.S. Pacific territory based upon a letter from the United States Agency for Global Media.

“I suspect your organization has heard over the past week(s) about a big change taking place at the U.S. Agency for Global Media’s Robert E. Kamosa Transmitting Station or REKTS. The change is a discontinuation of all shortwave radio transmissions at our Saipan and Tinian sites, the first step in closing the station,” according to the letter.

REKTS consists of a transmitter and antenna system at Agingan Point at the southwestern point of Saipan and a second transmitter and antenna system on the western side of Tinian. The site is used for multi-language programming from Radio Free Asia and Voice of America into the East Asia region.

William Martin, director of the USAGM transmitting stations and operations division, stated: “By now many of you have heard that the “Voice of America” shortwave stations on Saipan and Tinian, which operated under the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), are closing. After decades of operation, these facilities are being phased out as shortwave audiences migrate to other media. Although these closures mark the end of an era, they are also bittersweet, as in closing these stations we also say farewell to the people and communities that supported our mission for so many years. On behalf of the agency, I would like to thank our staff and the many community members who contributed meaningfully to the stations’ operation these many years.”

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