RSID: <<2025-08-21T23:31Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>

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Welcome to program 414 of Shortwave Radiogram.

I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Arlington, Virginia USA.

Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:

  1:44 MFSK32: Program preview (now)
  2:56 MFSK32: New Radio Taiwan International democracy podcast
  7:30 MFSK64: Paper urges less dependence on submarine cables
11:34 MFSK64: This week's images
27:57 MFSK32: Closing announcements

 

Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

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And X/Twitter: @SWRadiogram

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From Radio Taiwan International:

Rti and European think tank to jointly launch podcast program

August 20, 2025

Radio Taiwan International (RTI) signed a memorandum of
understanding (MOU) with the European Values Center for Security
Policy (EVC) Taiwan Office on Monday to jointly produce a podcast
program called Tropic of Answer. The program will feature
dialogue and exchanges between Taiwan, the Middle East, and
Eastern Europe.

EVC is a think tank headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic,
dedicated to analyzing global threats to liberal democracies
across Europe and the Indo-Pacific region. Its Taiwan branch was
established in 2022, making it the second European think tank to
open an office in Taiwan. Head of the EVC Taiwan Office, Marcin
Jerzewski, said they are honored to partner with RTI and build
connections between Europe and Taiwan, particularly amid the
challenges posed by the rise of parochialism, populism, and
geopolitical instability.

RTI President Chang Jui-chang (張瑞昌) said the MOU allows both
parties to leverage their respective strengths, combining the
think tank’s policy research expertise with RTI’s international
communications capabilities to create a platform for deepening
exchanges among democratic countries.

Tropic of Answer will be co-produced by RTI English Service host
Joey Chou (周恩丞) and is scheduled to launch in the fourth quarter
of this year, with 10 episodes planned for the first season.
Guests will include members of the European Parliament, Taiwan
legislators, scholars from European and Taiwanese academic
institutions, and experts from Taiwan-Europe think tanks.

Editor： Hanna Bilinski

https://www.rti.org.tw/en/news?uid=3&pid=159778
 

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Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 ...

 

RSID: <<2025-08-21T23:37Z MFSK-64 @ 9265000+1500>>
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This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net

 

From TechXplore:


Global telecommunications at risk: New paper urges urgent rethink
of submarine cable dependence

by Reichman University
August 18, 2025

A newly published paper by Dr. Asaf Tzachor, Dean of Reichman
University's School of Sustainability, warns that the backbone of
our global internet infrastructure—submarine communication
cables—is dangerously vulnerable to both natural disasters and
deliberate sabotage, posing systemic risks to international
communication, commerce, and security.

"The world's overreliance on a uniform submarine cable network is
a textbook case of a progress trap," says Dr. Tzachor. "While
cables have enabled a connected planet, they also represent a
fragile chokepoint in global communications."

Published in Nature Electronics, the study details the growing
vulnerability of submarine cables—which transmit over 95% of the
world's international data—to both natural and man-made hazards.

In 2022, the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano
unleashed a tsunami and underwater shockwaves that snapped the
fiber-optic lifeline connecting Tonga to Fiji, plunging the
island nation into digital isolation for weeks. This was not an
isolated event.

In 2011, Japan's devastating 9.0 magnitude Tōhoku earthquake
disrupted trans-Pacific telecommunications, while a 2006
earthquake off Taiwan's southwest coast triggered submarine
landslides in the Luzon Strait that severed critical cables
linking Hong Kong, China, the Philippines, and Japan. The fallout
was global—Hong Kong's internet was nearly paralyzed, and
financial markets around the world felt the ripple effects.

More recently, in just the past 18 months, a spate of incidents
has exposed the system's fragility. Submarine cables in the Red
Sea, Baltic Sea, and Pacific have been damaged—some likely the
result of deliberate sabotage—disrupting data flows across
continents and underscoring the risks of relying on a single,
vulnerable communications backbone.

Accidental damage from ship anchors and deep-sea trawlers causes
frequent disruptions, while the growing trend of targeted cable
sabotage by state and non-state actors raises the specter of
intentional, high-impact blackouts.

If left unaddressed, these compounding vulnerabilities could
cascade into large-scale communications failures with serious
consequences.

From ocean floor to stratosphere and space: A new vision

Dr. Tzachor lays out an ambitious yet scientifically grounded
roadmap for diversifying global communications infrastructure
beyond the ocean floor. He envisions three alternative systems
that, while at varying stages of maturity, could together reduce
our overreliance on vulnerable submarine cables.

The first is satellite-based laser communication networks.
Already in operation through NASA and commercial ventures like
Starlink, these low-Earth orbit constellations can deliver
fiber-like data speeds without the seismic or geopolitical risks
that threaten undersea systems. While atmospheric interference
remains a technical hurdle, advances in beam steering, adaptive
optics, and high-throughput inter-satellite links suggest
enormous potential.

The second solution takes to the skies. High-altitude platform
systems, or HAPS, involve solar-powered drones and airships
stationed in the stratosphere. Acting as floating, low-latency
data relays, they've proven useful in emergencies and remote
regions. Though still early in development, prototypes have shown
that these platforms could one day provide agile and resilient
internet infrastructure—particularly for areas underserved by
current cable networks.

The third approach dives below the surface. Autonomous underwater
optical wireless networks imagine swarms of robotic vehicles
equipped with blue-green lasers, forming a dynamic mesh of
short-range optical links beneath the sea. These systems could
offer critical redundancy near existing cables, and are
especially promising for military, deep-sea energy, and
environmental monitoring applications.

But technology alone won't secure the future of global
communications. The paper calls for coordinated public–private
action on a scale not seen since the rise of the semiconductor
industry. Governments must step up with targeted funding, policy
reform, and international agreements. That includes incentivizing
research into alternative communications, setting clear standards
for space-debris mitigation and orbital traffic management, and
aligning frequency, airspace, and oceanic regulations across
borders.

Only by broadening our thinking, and our investments, can we
build a communications infrastructure resilient enough for the
21st century.

"Cable redundancy isn't enough. We need genuine diversification
of the global digital infrastructure if we're to withstand
21st-century threats—from geohazards to geopolitical conflict,"
says Tzachor.

https://techxplore.com/news/2025-08-global-telecommunications-paper-urges-urgent.html

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This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net
 

This week's images ...
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Cover from a 1984 issue of Idea, a Japanese graphic design
magazine. tinyurl.com/26xp4gyj ...

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A sign at a protest supporting Ukraine before the Trump-Putin
summit in Anchorage, Alaska. tinyurl.com/23gfub2q ...

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A man looks at a wildfire on the Adriatic island of Brač, near
Milna, Croatia. tinyurl.com/23gfub2q ...

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A recent sunset at High Burnside, Aviemore, Scotland.
tinyurl.com/2b3z97j4 ...

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A friendly creature at the Mid-Argyll Agricultural Show in
Lochgilphead, Scotland. tinyurl.com/2b3z97j4 ...

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A 1960s Volkswagen at the Woodward Dream Cruise classic car
event, Berkley, Michigan, August 16. tinyurl.com/2xq2p5lo ...

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Blooms in the Plumeria Grove at the Los Angeles Arboretum.
tinyurl.com/2bdwfw3t ...

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Young night herons in Japan, July 2025. tinyurl.com/29s47bnl ...

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Our painting of the week is « Paysage à l'arbre rond » (Landscape
with a round tree) (1906) by Jean Metzinger. tinyurl.com/2cvbmloe
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Shortwave Radiogram returns to MFSK32 ...

 

RSID: <<2025-08-21T23:58Z MFSK-32 @ 9265000+1500>>


This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK32 ...


Transmission of Shortwave Radiogram is provided by:

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and

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Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

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X/Twitter (for now): @SWRadiogram

I'm Kim Elliott. Please join us for the next Shortwave
Radiogram.
 

RSID: <<2025-08-22T11:30Z MFSK-64 @ 15770000+1500>>

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Dale Hawkins was born on August 22, 1936.
He died in 2010.

 

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dale_Hawkins

Please report your decode to themightykbc@gmail.com.