Jamming of Al Jazeera's World Cup broadcasts 'traced to Jordan'

Jordan is known as being a hub for tech-minded entrepreneurs. But it is also home to one or two saboteurs, according to allegations published this week.

The mysterious jamming of Al Jazeera's World Cup broadcasts has been traced to Jordan, according to The Guardian newspaper in the UK.

Some of AJ's broadcasts of the games, including the very first match, were hit by blackouts, distorted images and commentaries in the wrong language.

According to 'secret documents' seen by The Guardian, five instances of signal 'jamming'  allegedly originated in a location just north-east of Amman.

The illegal jamming "involves the transmission of radio or TV signals that disrupt the original signal to prevent reception on the ground," the paper said.

There is no proof that AJ's broadcasts were jammed with the knowledge or approval of the Jordanian government. But The Guardian speculates that the incident could have had a political motive, due to a failed agreement between AJ and Jordan concerning the broadcast of the tournament.