Deccan Radio was the first radio station ofHyderabad State (nowHyderabad, India) and went live on air on 3 February 1935. Deccan Radio was launched as a private broadcasting station with transmitting power of 200Watts and was located atChirag Ali lane at Abids,Hyderabad State The programmes were broadcast inUrdu.[1]
Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII took over The Deccan Radio and nationalised it on 3 February 1935. A new radio station was set up atKhairatabad, and a new transmitter of 500Watts with 730kHz was installed which was purchased fromMarconi Company,England. DuringSecond World War a special broadcast studio was set up atSaroornagar to broadcast live news programmes.[1] In the same year, the older 200 Watt transmitter from Hyderabad was shifted toAurangabad (part of then Hyderabad State) and a new radio station was started there. It was a district level radio station to broadcast programmes inUrdu andMarathi as most of the population speakMarathi.
On 1 December 1948, theNizam inaugurated an upgraded 800Watts unit, ashortwave transmitter which was installed with themediumwave station and operated with 3335 and 6210 kHz. TheWorld Radio Handbook had consecutively listed the editions of this station.[1] Though, in the early 1919 theBritish cantonment ofSecunderabad established the early communication station in theHyderabad State and in 1924 an unknown spark station was operated from same region to which the Australian radio magazine in the same year named as VWT station.[1]
It served as an official broadcaster of erstwhile Nizams's of Hyderabad,[1] on 1 April 1950 Deccan Radio was taken over by Indian Government and in 1956 it was merged withAll India Radio (AIR) and since then it is known as AIR-Hyderabad (100 kW).[2]