Editing Shortwave radio (section)

==Shortwave's future==
[[File:Penny Mercury.jpg|thumb|right|PC spectrum display of a modern [[software-defined radio|software-defined]] shortwave receiver]]
{{Further|Shortwave listening#Future of shortwave listening}}

The development of direct broadcasts from satellites has reduced the demand for shortwave receiver hardware, but there are still a great number of shortwave broadcasters. A new [[digital radio]] technology, [[Digital Radio Mondiale]] (DRM), is expected to improve the quality of shortwave audio from very poor to adequate.<ref name=Careless2018/><ref>{{Cite book|last=Amaral|first=Cristiano Torres|title=Guia Moderno do Radioescuta|publisher=Amazon|year=2021}}</ref> The future of shortwave radio is threatened by the rise of [[power line communication]] (PLC), also known as [[Broadband over Power Lines]] (BPL), which uses a data stream transmitted over unshielded power lines. As the BPL frequencies used overlap with shortwave bands, severe distortions can make listening to analog shortwave radio signals near power lines difficult or impossible.<ref name=HrasnicaHaidine2005/>

According to Andy Sennitt, former editor of the [[World Radio TV Handbook]],

{{quote|shortwave is a legacy technology, which is expensive and environmentally unfriendly. A few countries are hanging on to it, but most have faced up to the fact that the glory days of shortwave have gone. Religious broadcasters will still use it because they are not too concerned with listening figures.<ref name=Careless2018/>}}

However, Thomas Witherspoon, editor of shortwave news site ''SWLingPost.com'' wrote that

{{quote|shortwave remains the most accessible international communications medium that still provides listeners with the protection of complete anonymity.<ref>{{cite news |last=Witherspoon |first=Thomas |title=[no title cited] |website=SWLingPost.com}}{{full citation needed|date=June 2020}}</ref>}}

In 2018, Nigel Fry, head of Distribution for the [[BBC World Service]] Group,

{{quote|I still see a place for shortwave in the 21st&nbsp;century, especially for reaching areas of the world that are prone to natural disasters that destroy local broadcasting and Internet infrastructure.<ref name=Careless2018/>}}

During the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]], the BBC World Service launched two new shortwave frequencies for listeners in [[Ukraine]] and [[Russia]], broadcasting English-language news updates in an effort to avoid [[Media freedom in Russia#Coverage on Ukraine|censorship by the Russian state]].<ref name=BBC2022/> American commercial shortwave broadcasters [[WTWW]] and [[WRMI]] also redirected much of their programming to Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wilbanks |first=Kase |title=Lubbock radio DJ reaching Ukraine on shortwave WTWW with truth, hope, classic hits |url=https://www.kcbd.com/2022/04/04/lubbock-radio-dj-reaching-ukraine-shortwave-wtww-with-truth-hope-classic-hits/ |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=KCBD |date=4 April 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Little • • |first=Joe |title=San Diego Radio Host Broadcasts from His Closet for Listeners in Ukraine |url=https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/san-diego-radio-host-broadcasts-from-his-closet-for-listeners-in-ukraine/2910336/ |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=NBC 7 San Diego |date=April 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>[https://miami.cbslocal.com/2022/03/17/shortwave-radio-signal-central-florida-russia-news/ Shortwave Radio Signal From Florida Cow Pasture Reaches Russia Carrying Latest News] WFOR-TV, March 17, 2022</ref>