Digital Migration as Litmus Test
With barely a month to the deadline for the migration from analogue to digital broadcasting and the shoddy preparation by Nigerian stakeholders, the incoming administration has a lot to do to strengthen the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission. Raheem Akingbol
It was cheering news to stakeholders in the broadcasting industry when the federal government announced in 2007 that the nation would migrate from analogue system to digital by June 2012. However, despite the supposed seriousness in the tone of the proponents of the move, experts who understood the enormity of challenges that would be surmounted before the dream could come true expressed their misgivings then, but government representatives at various fora insisted it was realisable. June 2012 came and passed, but rather than stepping up to the new platform, the industry remained on analogue. Case closed.
Knowing well that it would turn out an unaccomplished dream, the federal government diplomatically rescinded its earlier stand two months to the proposed deadline and announced January 1, 2015 as the new deadline. The then Minister of Information Labaran Maku, who announced the new date, said the decision was reached at the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting where the White Paper on the Report of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Broadcast Digitisation to ensure smooth transition to digital broadcasting was approved.
Meanwhile, at the 2012 Digital Dialogue Conference, held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa three years ago, our correspondent at the event was able to establish that the aspiration for the migration in the industry by 2015 across Africa may be a tall dream after all. Telecommunications experts, who spoke one after another at the conference, highlighted the various conditions that were needed to be met before the continent could experience a seamless transition. The conference was attended by journalists across the continent and aimed at exploring the digital migration process which had begun around the world including parts of Africa. Like Nigeria, most African nations have approved a continental digital television switch-over that was expected to be completed by 2015 and therefore part of the revolution that is set to bring with it more choice and more value to television viewers. The experts, who observed that there hadn’t been proper planning, urged government and operators to close ranks and think of the way forward. Among other things, some of them predicted that failure to meet the deadline may lead to TV blackout as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) had set a global deadline of 2015 for the transfer of TV programming from the current analogue to digital platforms. Current development With the stage of things and poor preparation from the home front, the possibility of Nigeria switching over next month is not likely to be realised. It means the country will not meet the June 17, 2015 deadline already set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for broadcast signals to move from analogue to digital.
According to a report published in one of the national dailies, critical among the factors that might make it difficult for Nigeria to meet the deadline is the failure of the federal government to release the sum of N60 billion that has been earmarked for the cutover since the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Till date, no government official or agency has explained why successive governments have been unable to provide this fund to the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in order to facilitate the switchover. However, what every industry watcher is looking at is the adverse impact the delay in switching over will have on the Nigerian broadcast industry.
Knowing well that it would again be an unfulfilled dream, the Nigerian government, from available findings, is seeking a new deadline from the ITU just like South Africa and many other African countries that will not meet the June 17 deadline. Reports suggest that extensions have been granted to those countries that have expressly applied to the ITU although no new deadlines have been announced. The Buhari factor Industry analysts believe that facilitating Nigeria’s digital switchover might be one of the quick-wins the incoming administration of retired General Muhammadu Buhari might explore in signposting his government as one with vision and determination to reposition Nigeria.
Broadcasting is critical to national development and any government interested in deepening its market and enabling the people to have access to unhindered conversations must take critical look at everything that would make the industry work. The failure of previous regimes to facilitate Nigeria’s digital migration therefore presents an opportunity for Buhari and his team to etch their names in gold should they give a firm commitment to fast-track Nigeria’s migration, now that it looks very likely that ITU will extend the deadline.
For a government that is likely to inherit an economy that is rapidly expanding across all frontiers, digital broadcasting provides an opportunity for the government to earn more revenue while at the same time delighting the populace. This is because digital signals are cheaper to generate and distribute.
According to a digital programmer and software consultant, Chris Onyishi, “digital signals carry much more data than analogue signals. Therefore, more than one channel of television programmes can be broadcast at the same time. This is known as multi-channeling. This efficient utilization of channels reduces the number of frequencies required for the broadcasting sector. This will enable the government to deploy the unused frequencies for use in other services.”
Onyishi noted that as government sustains its drive for deeper broadband development and internet penetration, such free signals will come in handy to ensure a further development of the country’s IT base.
“You see”, Onyisi opined, “because of the advancements in technology, digital broadcast can now be run through what is called the Digital Subscriber Line or DSL for short. This improvement also makes it possible for mobile phones to receive digital signals and allows you to set up a PC to TV system, which is great for entertainment. Some systems have USB ports that can be connected to a telephone line, allowing you to contact your service provider, as well as do other electronic transactions.” Enhancement of good governance If improving the quality of life is the hallmark of a good government, the incoming government has its jobs cut out in enhancing the lives of Nigerians by ensuring that Nigeria gets on the digital broadcasting plane.
This is because with analogue you are only able to have standard definition television. But with digital broadcasting, high definition [HD] television is possible. HD TV is the premium version of digital television, offering picture and sound quality which is much better than today’s analogue television. The reason is that it offers twice the vertical and horizontal resolution of a traditional analogue signal.
Because of better compression, broadcasters will be able to offer several channels of programming in spectrum that previously was only able to transmit a single analogue channel. Therefore viewers are likely to be offered a wider range of channels subject only to the broadcasters finding a business model to make the channels financially viable. Digital broadcasting offers the possibility of more channels which can include those in vernacular language.
These channels will, in the long term, give rise to people venturing into specialized areas of broadcasting, thereby addressing areas that were hitherto neglected by commercial broadcasters. The digital transition provides the opportunity to extend the signal coverage area within a country so that more people can share the same television programmes.
The greatest challenge the Buhari administration will face from May 29, 2015 is grappling with the debilitating unemployment situation in the country. According to statistics, over 40 million Nigerians are unemployed. But digital broadcasting offers a great opportunity to cut this number. First, the digital transition offers an opportunity to review the effectiveness of local production quotas and of government schemes that support local production. With more Nigerians involved in profitably producing television and radio content, more people will be taken off the streets.
Writing on the topic, “The Challenges of Digitisation of Broadcasting in Nigeria,” In- nocent Paschal Ihechu and Uwaoma Uche of the Mass Communication Department, Abia State University, stated that “The content providers do not only have increased avenue for legitimate exploitation of works and avenue for airing programmes, but increased demand for all genres of programmes to fill the additional programming demands in the increased available channels (Udeorah; 2009, p. 7). As existing broadcast stations start to increase the number of channels resulting from the digitization process, the demand for programme will increase. As a result, the content providers will be well engaged in the bid to satisfy the numerous stations that will be yearning for programmes. This will create competition which will result to quality content provision. At the end, the content providers will maximise profit.”
In the same vein, migrating to digital broadcasting would make it absolutely possible for some local investors who have the required experience and knowledge, but have been denied the opportunity to obtain broadcast license because there is no ‘space’ in the analogue platform. Once the country migrates to digital broadcasting, these investors would then have the privilege to utilize their experience, employ more suitably qualified Nigerians. This is another major reason Buhari’s administration should take personal interest in the digital broadcasting migration in Nigeria. Nollywood provides a good case study of what can be benefitted from digital migration. The Nigerian movie industry directly and indirectly employs hundreds of thousands of people from script writers to video editors, from directors to actors and actresses and other people in the distribution and sales value chain.
Many have argued that digital migration has potential to replicate this and put more Nigerians in gainful employment because there are going to be people involved in the whole content process chain while others will be in the middle, facilitating uptake and selling equipment.
The fact that the system will create the opportunity for more and more broadcast stations to be established and achieve wider signal reach provides a great opportunity for the reduction of Nigeria’s unemployment rate.
The facts above present significant multiplier benefits for the incoming government which, many believe, must explore quick-wins in other to impress on the people that in truth, it is actually out to make meaningful impact on the lives of Nigerians.