By Emmanuel Elebeke

Exactly as many industry practitioners have predicted, Nigeria will not join the rest of the world to migrate from analogue to digital broadcasting platform by June 17 this year. At least, the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission, NBC  has said so. The Commission through its Director General, Mr Emeka Mba has confirmed that Nigeria cannot meet the deadline as earlier planned.

Broadcast-transmitter

Mba, at a media briefing, in Abuja, to intimate the public on the situation, however, blamed the inability of federal government to grant the commission’s request of N60 billion needed to fund the project, saying it was the major reason for. “We cannot achieve the Digital Switch Over by June 17 this year.

We have done a lot to meet the deadline but failed to achieve our target  due to the funding challenge. Given the funding challenge, the Commission will not recommend hard switch off by the set date.

“In about 18 months’ time, we believe by encouraging local manufacturing of Set-Up-Boxes and creating jobs and making TV viewers use the boxes and people submitting proposal to create digital channels, we will make it. But it will require a pragmatic and political will by the incoming administration. However, it will certainly not cost us more than we budgeted.

“I think we became the step child during the dwindling moment of national resources and the Federal Government preferred to attend to INEC’s request after we all submitted our proposals in 2012. As an alternative way out, we are at the verge of  requesting Federal Government to permit us auction available spectrums to raise the needed fund since we are still in charge of them.

“Our Commission is willing  to explore all the available options to achieve our target. We have put up a proposal and now waiting for a response. We expect the new government  will see it as a national emergency and priority that will bring substantial value to the economy. This requires highest political commitment,” he said.

Recall that the International Telecommunications Union, ITU had fixed June 17, 2015 as dateline for all broadcasting television and radio stations in the world to migrate from analogue to digital platform or face the consequences and following this directive, the NBC submitted a proposal of N60 billion funding to federal government to enable it pursue the digital switch over plan, so as to beat the ITU June dateline but the request is yet to be granted by Federal Government.

Mba also disclosed that about 11 local companies have so far been granted operational licenses by the Commission to commence fabrication, assembling and manufacturing of Set-Up-Boxes as part of the digitization plan. The 11 companies have a target of supplying about 30 mission Set-Up-Boxes to estimated 30 million Nigerian TV home viewers in Nigeria in the buildup for the switch over date.

This according to the DG, was in line with federal government’s directives that all Set-Up-Boxes be manufactured in Nigeria to create job opportunity for Nigerian youths and empower the local operators. In the meantime, the NBC boss said Commission had concluded plans to hold a re-launch of the switch over in Jos, Plateau State sometime in July. As part of the arrangement, he explained that about 1 million Set-Up-Boxes would be imported by NBC to cover Jos and its environs as the take off point.

“We are looking at ordering initial 1 million Set-top boxes in second week of July for Jos and its environs” he added. On the implication of missing the dateline, the DG said after June 17, 2015, no analogue channel TV station in the country will be protected by the ITU as there would be a lot of interference from stations from neighbouring countries.

He however promised that the Commission will make a presentation to the ITU for possible shift in date of the switch over from analogue to digital broadcasting platform.

Photo: Broadcast transmitter, 18/5/15