Editing 1worldspace (section)

== Overview ==
[[File:BPL OneWorld.JPG|A OneWorld receiver for WorldSpace radio, manufactured by [[BPL Group]]|thumb|200px|right]]
The company, founded in 1990, has its headquarters in [[Silver Spring, Maryland]] and additional studios were located in [[Washington, D.C.]], [[Bangalore]], [[Mumbai]], [[New Delhi]], and [[Nairobi]]. In 1991 Noah Samara, working with Thomas van der Heyden – founder of what was then International Telecommunications Inc. (ITI), later in 1997 to become the geostationary satellite division of [[Orbital Sciences Corporation|Orbital Sciences]], prepared and filed for the world's first Radio Broadcast Satellite with the US FCC. In 1992, Samara and van der Heyden (at the time representing the [[Indonesia|Republic of Indonesia]]) were able, at WARC-92 with the support of many African and Asian countries, to have the ITU establish a new radio frequency spectrum band dedicated to [[Satellite television|Broadcast Satellite Services]] (BSS) in the [[L band|L-band]] – 1,452 MHz – 1,492 MHz. After WARC-92 Samara went on to build WorldSpace and van der Heyden to build IndoVison and the [[IndoStar-1|Indostar]] [[S band|S-band]] [[Satellite television|Direct Broadcast Satellite]] satellite program for Indonesia.

WorldSpace first began broadcasting satellite radio on 1 October 1999, in Africa. In a last-ditch but ultimately completely unsuccessful effort to avoid commercial insolvency in July 2008, WorldSpace changed its brand and corporate identity to 1worldspace.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://web2.sys-con.com/node/617050|title=WORLDSPACE, with the Creative Support of PIR Marketing, Unveils "1worldspace" as New Corporate Identity and Brand and Launches Re-Designed Company Website|last=Bridgwater|first=Adrian|date=July 22, 2008|work=Web 2.0 Journal|accessdate=March 19, 2012|archive-date=1 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140801223107/http://web2.sys-con.com/node/617050|url-status=live}}</ref>

Before filing for bankruptcy in October 2008, 1worldspace employed two satellites and broadcast 62 channels – 38 of which were content provided by international, national and regional third parties and 24 1worldspace-branded stations produced by or for 1worldspace.<ref name="1worldspace.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.1worldspace.com/corporate/|title=Company Overview|work=1worldspace|accessdate=August 22, 2008 |url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080822191714/http://www.1worldspace.com/corporate/|archivedate=August 22, 2008}}</ref> Most of the channels used to be available only through a subscription plan.

1worldspace claimed to be the only company with rights to the world's globally allocated spectrum for digital satellite radio.<ref>{{cite web|title=Worldspace, Inc. Voluntarily Files for Bankruptcy Protection|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1315054/000119312508212247/dex991.htm|date=September 17, 2008
|website=sec.gov|access-date=January 27, 2023}}</ref> However, it never made use of its license to broadcast to the Americas or the Caribbean. The company gained attention around 2000 because of its willingness to invest in impoverished areas and from 2006 to the present due to its financial difficulties and bankruptcy proceedings.

European operations were liquidated in the spring of 2009. On December 25, 2009, the company issued notices to all of its subscribers in India that WorldSpace service in India would officially be terminated from December 31, 2009, with no refunds given to its subscribers, on account of bankruptcy.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldspace.com/index_wsmsg.html|title=Home|work=worldspace.com|date=January 27, 2012|accessdate=March 1, 2012|archive-date=29 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229141418/http://www.worldspace.com/index_wsmsg.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The company was known as '''AfriSpace''' until 1992 when it changed its name to ''WorldSpace'' until July 2008.

For a while [[Liberty Media]] (a [[Corporate spin-off|spin-off]] of [[Tele-Communications Inc.|TCI]], an American [[cable television|cable-television]] group) sought to buy the assets, but in June 2010, a company called [[Yazmi USA]] owned by former WorldSpace founder, chairman, and CEO Noah Samara purchased the remains for US$5.5M.<ref>{{cite web |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100630083008/http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=1856716|url=http://www.fmqb.com/article.asp?id=1856716|archivedate=June 30, 2010|title=FMQB In Brief|accessdate=July 1, 2010|date=June 28, 2010|publisher=[[FMQB]]|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 18 July 2011, [[Forbes]] India reported that [[Timbre Media]] was re-launching WorldSpace Radio in association with [[Saregama]] in September 2011, although it would only be streamed through mobile phones, the Internet and [[Satellite television|direct-to-home]] television networks. Reportedly, old WorldSpace receivers would no longer work. The re-launch would start with 40 stations and eventually have as many as 120 stations, including sub-categories such as music for cardio-workouts.<ref name="itsback">{{cite news|url=http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/features/worldspace-radio-is-back_566645.html|title=WorldSpace radio is back|last=Ramnath|first=N. S.|date=July 19, 2011|work=[[Forbes India]]|accessdate=October 19, 2011|archive-date=1 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001202041/http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/features/worldspace-radio-is-back_566645.html|url-status=live}}</ref>