century artist once said: "An Artist is not paid
for his labour, but for his vision." Nollywood is
on the way to being paid for its vision.
In the broadcast industry, also, we are about
to take Nigeria to the next level at which
Nigerians will begin to enjoy the full benefits
of digital broadcasting as we transit from
analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting,
and I am honoured to be able to share with
you a brief background of where we are; an
update of progress made so far, and lastly the
next steps and policy road map for the digital
switch over.
It is important to appreciate that the
transition to Digital television broadcasting is
not only a major challenge in both economic
and political terms it is also quite disruptive
not only to the viewers, but also to the
broadcasters themselves. However, there is
no doubt about the abundance of
opportunities that the DSO presents for the
industry and the Nigerian economy at large. It
opens up huge opportunities for a wide range
of new services such as more channels, better
pictures and sound, High Definition HD,
interactive services, deepening local
production, plus the added use of the digital
dividend spectrum for broadband service
deployment across the country. The big
question is: are we ready to take advantage
of the opportunities that it presents.
As I have mentioned previously the DSO
offers all of us the opportunity to rethink, re-
imagine and remake broadcasting to serve
our social and economic needs more
efficiently.
Some key observations and findings:
Free-to-air television and the digital
terrestrial television delivery platform
dominate in Nigeria – analogue free-to-air
television dominates the leisure and
entertainment lives of most Nigerians.
1. For the transition to work we require deep
industry collaboration and creation of
partnerships. Nowhere has DSO worked
without industry collaboration.
2. The key driver for digital remains content;
and the television is no longer just a dumb
box, it is now a comprehensive information
terminal.
3. Digital will usher in varying levels of
convergence, which will disrupt existing
business models as far as content production,
distribution and monetization is concerned. A
greater need for synergy is called for between
broadcasting and telecommunications
operators.
4. We must also examine the current status
of MMDS operations within the larger DTT
DSO network plan.
5. The NBC believes strongly that it is in the
general public interest for free to air digital
terrestrial television to continue to grow as a
vital delivery platform as it represents the
highest value proposition to viewers and
therefore, the Commission would take steps
to ensure that we have an increase in the
number of free-to-air television channels as
soon as practicable to enhance the
entertainment and information utility
Nigerians can derive from further investment
in digital terrestrial television reception
systems and equipment.
6. Nigeria is unique: whilst taking stock of
DSO operations in other countries, Nigeria is
unique when it comes to our cultural and
political make up; we therefore have to
develop a framework which not only
recognizes that but also ensure that
broadcasting continues to play a strategic
role in nation building.
7. Whilst a lot of attention has been paid to
the technology of digital television, it is
absolutely important at this point that we
also focus our attention on how developments
in terrestrial broadcasting technology can
enhance the lives of the general public and
end users of the services made possible by
them. This is especially paramount in a
country like Nigeria, where our citizenry face
peculiar challenges arising mostly out of lack
of information, necessary for development
and peaceful coexistence.
The Journey so far…
At this point, let me take a few minutes to
spell out some of the milestones reached on
the DSO; Since the Regional Radio
communications Conference RRC 06, the
Commission has worked with the industry to
achieve the following practical milestones so
far:
• All MMDS (DVB-C) operations and
transmissions are digital;
• All DTH and DSB (DVB-S) operations and
transmissions are digital;
• Most broadcast stations have digital or
digital-ready production facilities;
• The Pilot DTT project in the DVB –T2 format,
of the Nigerian Television Authority, in
conjunction with Startimes of China has
rolled out in more than 20 cities in the
country;
• The Details Nigeria DVB-H and DVB-T2 on
the digital platform have also rolled out in
several cities;
• The Federal Government has considered the
Presidential Advisory Committee (PAC)
document and consequently formed the
Digiteam Nigeria – a multi-sector team to
work with the Commission to drive the
Switchover process;
• Approval of a government owned signal
distributor using existing infrastructure, and
two others privately owned;
• The DVB – T2 standard has been adopted
for Nigeria
• A uniform Set-Top-Box standard has been
accepted for the whole of the ECOWAS
countries;
• Government has approved that
manufacturers of the STBs be encouraged to
produce in Nigeria;
• Switch off from Analogue broadcasting is
envisaged to be in 3 phases
• The Commission is gearing to launch a
massive publicity campaign to address all the
various stakeholders
In achieving a successful switchover, there
are still many rivers to cross, many bridges to
walk across. These include:
• Legislation: We are working with the
National Assembly to facilitate the legal
framework for the switchover;
• Emergence of the other two signal
distributors;
• New Licensing Framework for Television
Services and signal distributors;
• Massive and sustainable public awareness;
• Emergence of the Set Top Box
Manufacturers;
• Controlling the importation of analogue
television sets;
• Funds;
Posted By David Aniemeka
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