By Jide Ajani

At the Digital Dialogue in Dubai penultimate week, experts in digital broadcast came together to deliberate on the June 17, 2015, digital migration deadline set by the International.

Telecommunications Union (ITU) and came to the conclusion that if an engagement process that appreciates the essence of time is not put in place, some countries might be caught napping.  In the case of Nigeria, the country appears to be well behind the exploits of Kenya and Ghana.  But government functionaries insist that all hands are on deck to meet the deadline.

Just as it was in Johannesburg, Lagos and Accra where experts expressed concern about some countries not meeting the June 17, 2015, digital migration deadline, the story was not different penultimate week in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.  There, experts from Europe and Africa again focused on the need for urgency and clear-headed policy approach to the need to fast track meeting the deadline.

Yet, it was not all about gloom. From contributions made by participants from Uganda, Kenya, Switzerland, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, Tanzani and the United Kingdom, it was obvious that the earlier fog of inadequate information that characterized earlier dialogues had given way to a wealth of information richness as contributions reflected a grasp and understanding by participants.

All thanks to MultiChoice, the global pay-TV leader, sponsors of the dialogues, participants were upbeat about meeting the deadline.

Samplers

In Kenya, where the attempt to meet the deadline is in fever pitch mode, December 2013 would witness a switchover for Nairobi and environs, followed by other cities like Mombasa, Kisii, Nyeru, and others in phases next year.  Though a tortuous journey, the regulators in Kenya have simply decided to give it a go after putting in place some measures.  But as part of measures to ensure a smooth transition, the regulators in Kenya had impressed on and succeeded in convincing the government to allow for waivers for those to import the set-up boxes for digital broadcast.  Even on the issue of enlightenment, the regulators admitted that there were some commercials that were predicated on not-too-helpful themes.

However, the determination of the regulators in Kenya brought to the fore the unrelenting quest of a regulator to do all it could to ensure a smooth switchover.

Daniel Obam of Kenya’s National Communications Secretariat, explained that “whereas the switchover attempt has not been a smooth sail, the country cannot be accused of lack of commitment.

For Tanzania, it was a mixed bag.  It came to the fore during discussions that whereas the regulators in Tanzania were priming for a total switchover any which way, a new reality of some gaps in implementation is forcing back the hand of progress such that an earlier push for a switchover would likely suffer a reversal.

For the ECOWAS sub-region, just as the Dialogue was going on in Dubai, countries of the sub-region were busy working to adopt a common implementation plan for digital transition as the 2015 deadline approaches. This disclosure was made by Edmund Yirenkyi Fianko, Manager, Engineering, at the National Communications Authority of Ghana.

Fianko, while delivering his paper on the ECOWAS protocol, said that ICT ministers in the sub-region were billed to meet that same week in Banjul, The Gambia, to approve protocols and specifications on digital transmitters and set-top boxes that will henceforth be imported by countries in the region to fulfill needs generated by the digital migration.

One of such protocols, he said, includes character set specifications so that set-top boxes can appropriately decode programme and station names in local languages.

He also explained that if these specifications were not made, names of stations and broadcast programmes in several languages will not decode properly.

For instance, the name of a radio station like FAAJI FM, or a television programme like Kaakaki, BEBE’NLO, will not decode well if the manufacturers of set-top boxes do not have the appropriate character set specifications.

These, among others, are what ICT ministers of the sub-region deliberated on at the Banjul meeting.

In the very instance of Nigeria, the thorny issues revolve round network roll-out (for broadcast organizations), and the all-important issue of set top boxes (decoders) that members of the public will need if they are to continue receiving signals from television stations. This need arises as free-on-air TV signals will no longer be available from June 17, 2015, the ITU deadline.

Regarding set-top-boxes, there are issues regarding specifications, manufacturing, distribution, retail and installation of the set-top boxes. As things stand, majority of the Nigerian viewing public are in the dark regarding the source of the set-top boxes, the manufacturers, where they can be purchased, and at what prices.

A sector of the population that subscribes to pay-TV services however remains smug as their service providers are offering digital decoders.

At the Digital Dialogue held in Lagos last November, former director-general of the National Broadcast Commission, Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, disclosed that since 2008, late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had approved that Nigeria should key into the digital migration process with T-2, the latest technology in digital broadcasting.

In a presentation, Gerhard Petrick of the South African Digital Broadcasting Association (SADIBA), said that countries beginning the transition should leapfrog the technology gap by opting for set-top boxes driven by the T-2 technology. However, this issue is problematic in Nigeria as some service providers are still aggressively selling T-1 decoders to unsuspecting members of the public.

For the rest of the public who are largely unaware that they will need set-top boxes to receive broadcast signals, the industry regulator, NBC, will have to gear up to ensure that one of their fundamental rights, the right to freedom of information is not infringed on when the analog signals are switched off.

This is because, as Petrick added in his presentation, there will “be no protection for ATVs (analog TVs) after 2015,” and those who are still locked in the analog format of broadcast signal reception “will have to contend with signals from digitally compatible” neighbours. Countries like Togo and Benin Republic fall into this category as they are yet to launch digital terrestrial operations.

However, the advantages of T-2, both for broadcast organisations and the viewing public are over-arching. For broadcast organisations, DVB-T2, according to Petrick “yields 67% more payload at equivalent coverage and network cost” than T-1.

Ana Aguilar of Deloite’s Economic Consulting Group in her presentation highlighted the economic benefits of digital migration, saying the proliferation of channels, content, platforms and devices will generate employment opportunities in both the broadcast and entertainment sectors, while the multiplicity of channels will create new revenue channels for the advertising industry.

Why the switch any way?

The onward march of technology spurred initiatives in this direction. Hitherto, whenever people switched on their TV sets and searched for channels to view, often they come up with some static, accompanied by much noise. In the case of radio, frequencies allocated to stations need to have “buffers”to guard them against interference from other stations. That is in the analogue format. Thus, Digital Terrestrial Transmission technology came up as a way of making broadcast signals transmission and reception more efficient in terms of clarity of audio and video.

It also ensures precision broadcasting. The only thing needed by the average man on the street for this is what is called a set-top box (STB). Call it decoder, if you like. Thus, from June 17, 2015, analogue signals will be switched off and nations worldwide are expected to be digital. In addition, with DTT, more stations can occupy the same frequencies than in the analogue format.

Thus, a lot of frequency “space”can be freed for other uses, especially for broadband and related services. DTT is already in the second generation, called T-2. In a presentation, Gerhard Petrick of the South African Digital Broadcasting Association (SADIBA) said the advantages of T-2, both for broadcast organizations and the viewing public are over-arching. For broadcast organizations, DVB-T2, according to Petrick “yields 67% more payload at equivalent coverage and network cost.” than T-1.

The Nigerian problem

The Nigerian angle of this digital migration is that the people just don’t know what is going on. While it is accepted that some work is in progress as the Federal Government constituted a “Digi Team” to oversee migration to digital broadcasting, the snag is that targets of the development — ordinary Nigerian folk — remain in the dark about the issue, despite the launch of DTT in the country.

For now, only pay-TV operators like Multichoice, Star Times, and others are on DTT platforms. Not many Nigerians, relative to the entire population are aware that Nigeria had opted for DTT-2 more than five years ago. Former director-general of the National Broadcast Commission, Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa had disclosed at the second Digital Dialogue held last year in Lagos that since 2008, late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua had approved that Nigeria should key into the digital migration process with T-2, the latest technology in digital broadcasting.

Ray of hope in ECOWAS

It is gladdening to note that some work is in progress. Fianko disclosed at the Dubai conference that member states at a conference in Abuja earlier in July agreed to the following:

-a deadline of December 2014 as the date for the completion of Analogue Switch-Off (ASO) in the UHF band

-the minimum specifications for Integrated Receiver Decoders should be harmonized by ECOWAS Member States in order to create economies of scale to drive down prices.

Fianko also disclosed in his presentation that a few weeks after the Abuja talks, member states again agreed at another summit in Accra that

-the First Draft Common Specifications (dated 30 Aug. 2013)should be translated into French and circulated by 10 Sept 2013

-Each member state shall apply for Original Network Identification (ONID) from DVB Services

– Each member state shall provide language character codes and power supply plug in the country specific annex of the draft DTT receiver specifications.

-Minimum specifications to be finalized 24-26 Sept 2013 for adoption by ICT Ministers on 27 Sept 2013 in Banjul, Gambia.

In fact, Fianko left the Dubai Digital Dialogue Conference to attend the talks in Banjul. Perhaps it is after all these that authorities here will begin sensitization programmes. Only time will tell.