Africa’s first IP-based broadcast facility powered by Lawo

In a pioneering move for African broadcasting, Radio 47, part of Cape Media Ltd., has unveiled Africa’s first fully IP-based, automated hybrid broadcast facility. Located in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital and a rising technology hub of East Africa, the installation represents a new benchmark in the modernisation of media infrastructure on the continent. 

The project was planned and executed by Kigali-based Mediacity Ads Ltd., a specialist in IP broadcast systems and Lawo’s regional partner.

The new facility integrates radio, television, live streaming, and remote production into a unified, flexible system, using broadcast technology from manufacturers including Lawo, MultiCam Systems, AVT Audio Video Technologies, Voceware, Cleanfeed, Genelec, Telos Alliance, PTZ Optics, OptiSign, and others.

Central to the installation is a fully IP-native broadcast infrastructure built on Lawo’s crystal broadcast consoles, Power Core DSP engine, and RAVENNA/AES67-based audio-over-IP networking. 

The integrated Lawo VisTool GUI software provides customisable touchscreen interfaces for control and visualisation of sources, metres, and routing. The new workflow also allows for full remote control and monitoring of all broadcast operations.

Each of the three new on-air studios at Radio 47 features a Lawo crystal console. The consoles are networked to a centralised Lawo Power Core, a high-density, modular IP I/O and mixing engine capable of managing extensive audio routing, DSP processing, and multiple studio operations from a single location.

The Power Core is equipped with modular I/O cards that handle analogue, AES3, Dante, and MADI formats, ensuring compatibility with both legacy and next-generation equipment. The system’s modular design also allows for easy expansion and remote integration, whether for regional studio feeds, mobile devices, or external contributors.

All studios, edit rooms, and control points are connected via an AES67-compliant IP backbone, with full support for RAVENNA networking. This standards-based infrastructure enables real-time, lossless audio transmission and complete operational freedom — any feed, phone call, or stream can be routed anywhere in the facility instantly, without the need for physical re-patching or manual configuration.

“We wanted more than another radio station. We wanted to build the future of African media – an infrastructure that removes traditional barriers, empowers creativity in the young generation, and embraces tomorrow’s technology today,” said Simon Gisharu, Chairman, Cape Media Ltd.

Whether it’s producing multilingual podcasts, simulcasting to online platforms, or managing live call-ins and studio guests with minimal setup time, the Lawo-powered system is designed to evolve with Cape Media’s vision.