Those of us living in the Western World have access to an unprecedented amount of information, both good and bad. We are at liberty to select or discard information at will. Nearly every American, regardless of race or income, has access to cellular mobile data networks and the Internet.
Of course, this is not the case for everyone. The recent conflict between Israel and Iran drives this point home as telecommunications services are disrupted and the Iranian regime seeks to isolate citizens from information it cannot control. Likewise, there are regimes around the world that monitor Internet usage, thereby exposing subjects who are perceived as disloyal to significant penalties.
Even as we take our robust telecommunications infrastructure for granted, vulnerabilities exist in Western nations. Cognitive dissonance is such that we avoid considering the potential realities of widespread cyber-attacks and potential disruptions to infrastructure that could severely limit our access to information.
In any of these cases, seemingly old-fashioned radio communications would seem to have value. Medium wave broadcasting can offer regional or continent-wide access to information from dispersed locations. International shortwave frequencies can offer access to information throughout the World in the event of a major crisis. Most importantly, over-the-air radio reception is difficult to detect and monitor. There is a reason owning a shortwave radio brings with it a death penalty in North Korea.
Those in totalitarian states can build a simple shortwave radio intended for the reception of the basic AM modulation out of just a few electronic components harvested from old electronics. A simple commercial analog shortwave radio can be easily smuggled into a totalitarian state or hidden away under a floorboard or behind a false wall. A basic analog shortwave radio is so inexpensive, thousands can be manufactured for distribution in the developing world, or they can be made available to those who have the resources to move them behind the modern-day “asymmetrical iron curtain” of totalitarian regimes.
With the end of the Cold War, many western nations shut down their shortwave services. We envisioned a period of peace and tranquility, a sort of “Pax Americana” in which the Internet and satellite services would be commonplace, eliminating the need for shortwave radio with its selective fading and complex frequency changes based on time of day and time of year. What we didn’t see coming was a new normal of asymmetrical conflict, the rise of China, and a back-sliding Russia descending into oligarchy and instability.
In some respects, our current geopolitical situation is less stable than it was in the bi-polar Cold War era during which East and West were at odds but during which there was always a reasonable hope that both sides were acting at some rational level to avoid the worst-case scenario.
Perhaps we were hasty or excessively hopeful when we shut down our International broadcast services. Radio signals don’t respect borders. Radio receiver usage is very difficult to monitor. Provided the distant transmitter facility or remote relay facility is functional, International shortwave broadcasts will remain available under any conditions, from totalitarian crackdowns, theocratic censoring, or during major international conflicts.
We should take note of current events. Perhaps it’s time for the Western World to re-establish a shortwave broadcast infrastructure not just to reach those trapped under the yoke of totalitarianism, but as an alternative information resource should the worst-case international conflict arise.