Getting Weather Reports to Rural Communities

Getting Weather Reports to Rural Communities
The RANET project helps national weather services improve their reach. Transcript of radio broadcast:
16 June 2008

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

In many developing countries, weather reports remain trapped in the capital. National weather services have the information, but no way to get it to farmers and other people in rural communities.

This is the job of an international project called RANET -- Rural Communications using Radio and the Internet. RANET works with national weather services to improve their reach.

Kelly Sponberg at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States is the program coordinator. He says that although there is a lot of work at the national level, RANET really happens at the community level.

The project develops networks of satellite receiver systems, community radio stations and other technologies. Communities often are provided with some equipment, but the systems are locally owned and supported.

RANET uses the WorldSpace satellite system and will soon be on GEONETCast. This is a network of satellite-based systems that provide environmental information.

RANET also works with nongovernmental groups and others to make sure information meets local needs. In addition to weather, broadcast time can be filled with advertisements, local music and reports on farming and market conditions.

RANET began in the year two thousand. Kelly Sponberg says the project has set up several hundred local stations in Asia, Africa and the Pacific. RANET is also moving into Latin America.

And the project does not just involve community radio stations. For example, RANET helped the Indonesian government develop ways to broadcast warnings of tsunamis and severe weather.

RANET has a yearly budget of about seven hundred fifty thousand dollars. Money comes from donors including the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance in the United States Agency for International Development. And technical support comes from groups including the First Voice International, Wantok Enterprises and the Freeplay Foundation.

RANET is working to improve communications in countries with limited power supplies. And, in the next month or two, it hopes to launch a community reporter program. Local citizens will provide weather reports and other information through text messaging.

The RANET Web site is ranetproject.net.

And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by Jill Moss.

----------------------------Google Translate



获得天气报告，以农村社区
该ranet项目，帮助美国国家气象服务，改善他们的达成。全文电台广播：
2008年6月16日

这是美国之音特别英语发展报告。

在许多发展中国家，天气报告仍然被困在首都。美国国家气象服务信息，但没有办法得到它向农民和其他人在农村社区。

这是工作的一个国际项目，所谓的ranet -农村通信使用无线电和因特网。 ranet工程与国家气象服务，以改善他们的达成。

凯利sponberg在国家海洋和大气管理局在美国是该计划的协调员。他说，虽然有大量的工作在国家一级， ranet真的发生在社区层面上。

该项目开发的网络卫星接收系统，社区广播站和其他技术。社区往往提供一些设备，但该系统是本地国有和支持。

ranet使用WorldSpace卫星系统，并将很快就geonetcast 。这是一个网络，以卫星为基础的系统，提供环保信息。

ranet还与民间团体及其他，以确保信息会见当地的需要。此外，天气，播出时间可以充满广告，当地的音乐和报告对农业和市场条件。

ranet开始，在2000年。凯利sponberg说，该项目已成立了几百个地方电视台在亚洲，非洲和太平洋地区。 ranet ，也是迈向拉丁美洲。

该项目不只是涉及社区广播站。举例来说， ranet帮助，印尼政府制定方法，播出的警告，海啸和严重天气。

ranet有一个每年的运作经费大约75.0万美元。钱是来自捐助者，包括办公室的外国灾难援助，在美国国际开发署。和技术支持，来自团体，包括第一次的声音，国际， wantok企业和自由行动的基础。

ranet是工作，以改善通信在国家有限的电力供应。 ，并在下个月或2 ，它希望以推出一个社区记者程序。当地居民提供的天气报告及其他资料，通过短信。

该ranet网站是ranetproject.net 。

这是该美国之音特别英语的发展报告，写的小杰苔。