UVB-76 — The Buzzer — Monitoring Record

The shortwave radio station known as UVB-76, or “The Buzzer,” broadcasts on 4625 kHz. It has done so, with very few interruptions, since approximately 1976. The broadcast consists of a repeating buzzing tone. Occasionally, name-number groups are transmitted over the tone. The station’s origin and purpose have never been officially acknowledged by any government or organisation.

The Institution began monitoring the frequency in 1973, three years before the standard recorded start date of the transmission. The Institution’s pre-1976 monitoring logs record a different signal on the same frequency: a series of tones at regular intervals that the Institution classified as non-standard. What the signal was or who transmitted it is not addressed in the open archive.

The Name-Number Groups

Since 1976, the station has transmitted name-number groups on 192 recorded occasions. The Institution has logged all 192 transmissions. Of these, 41 were followed within 72 hours by an event that the Institution considers noteworthy for reasons documented in restricted archive entries. The Institution does not state that the transmissions caused the events. The Institution notes the correlation.

The 2010 Silence

In June 2010, the buzzer fell silent for approximately 24 hours. During this period, a transmission was made on the frequency that did not consist of name-number groups. The content of the transmission is classified at the Third Degree. The Institution’s response to the transmission is classified at the Fourth Degree.