Nigeria Not in a Hurry to Switch from Analogue to Digital Broadcasting

Emma Okonji The Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Emeka Mba, yesterday, confirmed speculations making the rounds that Nigeria may not achieve the June 17, 2015 deadline for digital switchover.

Mba, who attributed the inability of NBC to achieve the said date to funds constraints, however said the commission had achieved some level of successes to switch Nigeria from analogue to digital broadcasting, but lacks the necessary funds to execute the project.

Mba, who gave an overview of the country’s digital switchover plan, said NBC would not switch the country from analogue to digital by June 17, 2015, as mandated by the International Telecoms Union (ITU), for lack of adequate preparation, occasioned by funds constraints.

“Any attempt to automatically switchover to digital broadcasting by June 17, the country will not only create signal interference challenge for neighbouring countries, but will also cut off access to television contents to over 80 over cent of Nigerians, and we are not prepared to create such challenge for Nigerians,” Mba said.

Although there are several implications for not switching over, which include sanction from ITU, should Nigeria continue with analogue television streaming after June 17, Mba however said NBC was aware of such implications, but explained that the NBC had held meetings with the Economic Communities for West African States (ECOWAS) and the ITU, where it unveiled the contingency plans it has put in place to deal with the signal interference issue.

He further explained that the commission and some government delegates would be having another meeting with ITU next week, to ask for a possible shift in date, since the June 17 deadline is no longer achievable.

All local television stations in the country, except for digital pay television stations like StarTimes and GoTv, are still transmitting television signals and contents from their analogue transmission facilities, and such transmission will cause signal interference with countries that have already gone digital.

To avert the challenge, government had planned to digitise all television transmission facilities, located in border towns.

Mba, who said Nigeria has attained up to 20 per cent digital penetration through the services offered by digital pay TV stations, added that the NBC would continue to develop an ecosystem that would help Nigeria achieve digital migration in the near future.

He said the commission has already licensed two signal distribution companies, and that it is in the process of licensing the third. 11 companies have been commissioned to locally manufacture Set Top Boxes at reduced cost, which he said, would enhance easy conversion and reception of digital signals.

Other categories of licences that are being planned for auction, in preparation for the future digital switchover, according to Mba, include free view terrestrial television licence, subscription based television licence, pay TV content services licence, signal distribution licence at national and regional levels, among others.