Saving DSO from needless controversies, by Okoh Aihe
Writing about the fresh aspirations of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) on the Digital Switch-Over (DSO) and FreeTV being prepped for launch on June 17, 2026, we declared our support for the regulator in choosing the satellite option but warned that the process needs to be more transparent and inclusive. Before the afternoon of the very […]
A place for Peace among the stars
By Okoh Aihe OUR dear friend, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, went on a long journey last week, and she is not likely to be back soon. No, not ever. She has gone the way of all mortals, leaving behind a gamut of works packed into her short life span to speak for her in a most voluble […]
Even with technology, time outsmarts the politician
By Okoh Aihe THE ephemerality of time is one thing that gnaws at the innards of the politician. If a wish-list was possible in the New Year, he would ask God for time to stand still, you know, like Joshua making that great declaration for the sun to remain still right in the middle of […]
With NITDA Bill National Assembly prepares hemlock for telecoms industry
By Okoh Aihe WRITING on the NITDA Bill on September 1, this year, this writer concluded aphoristically: This particular Bill is outrageous and annoyingly duplicitous, a grotesque mirror image of the original already in existence. The National Assembly should be wary of all contraptions that come in the name of Bill, including this ostentatious manifestation […]
For 5G, little lessons that build an industry
By Okoh Aihe WHAT seemed a miscarriage of reality last year was righted last week when mobile service provider, Airtel, became the sole contender in a 5G auction scheduled for this month. As the sole bidder, Airtel will now shell out the sum of $273.6 million as payment for a lot of 100 MHz in […]
Startup Act 2022 as apologia for stale reasoning
By Okoh Aihe IT’s obviously refreshing to hear things that make sense and are also well presented; far away from the avalanche of campaign dust and induced violence, far away from the political drama and hugger-mugger that have become a depressing hallmark of our politics. The gentleman was speaking about the Startup Act of 2022. […]
For broadcasting, foreboding times and days of restraints
By Okoh Aihe I LIKE this feeling of optimism that the various laws spring upon Nigerians as the election fever breaks. You know how the holy books put it: “Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new,” especially if you follow the laws of the land concerning elections or even concerning broadcasting […]
5G Spectrum Cap, spectrum auction, and other issues
By Okoh Aihe WITH the Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum held in mid-November and the publication of the final Information Memorandum (IM) on the website of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, it is no longer in doubt that the 5G Auction scheduled for December 19, 2022, will hold. All initial doubt and public apprehension pale into insignificance […]
For broadcasting, an early celebration of the death of monopoly
By Okoh Aihe IN moments of soaring confusion, some salient but very troubling issues may just develop unnoticed. Life goes on while those issues could build into a broth that could trouble the body in future. Especially in businesses where every Naira invested is of major interest to the investor, such things could either help […]
A minister’s difficult journey to the National Assembly
By Okoh Aihe IT can be exasperatingly helpless when somebody tries to make a point and nobody seems to understand. So it was the other day as the Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made a passionate appeal to the lawmakers at the National Assembly to, at least, add more funds to his 2023 […]
A little alert before another 5G auction in December
By Okoh Aihe NIGERIA is in dire straits. She needs money for daily runs and is bungling on the edge of extreme desperation. Desperation can lead to selling of metal scraps for survival or even selling off national assets, as proposed in the 2023 Budget, what in the case of an individual, is pawning, that […]
Telecoms: Regulatory lawmaking as a distractive pastime
By Okoh Aihe THE other day some idle lawmakers went to the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, on a single mission: to intimate the head that they have put in motion the process of merging some parastatals under the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. The parastatals include: the NCC, National Information Development Agency, NITDA; Galaxy […]
Behold Matawalle, the broadcast regulator from Zamfara
By Okoh Aihe A NEW broadcast regulator emerged from Zamfara State over the weekend, shutting down some broadcast outfits, including Federal Government stations, in a most brazen regulatory breach. For covering the political activities of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, instead of focusing on the several headaches of the state, perhaps, six stations found […]
For Amadi, a tech testimonial
By Okoh Aihe I HAVE a lot of respect for one of my young friends, and he would not understand why. Not because he gave me a call on Sunday night. Really, that call came with some balm that my spirit needed. At this particular time in our nation, there are so many things to trouble […]
Recommended: Sleepless months ahead for the NBC
By Okoh Aihe Today, a new political journey into the future begins for this country. But let’s do a recall. It may not be total. My friend once told me a story, long ago, which still makes my heart bleed. In one of those satanic periods after the elections in Nigeria, there was conflagration up North, […]
For telecoms, the curse of the low hanging fruits
By Okoh Aihe They came on the wings of hope. Was it building castles in the air? Oh, the commonality of cliché! Nigeria will be good again. Life will be worth celebrating. Life will be safe. Food will be available. The dollar would return to the pre-1999 value. They would put an end to fuel […]
