Digitalisation: FG restates commitment to meeting 2017 deadline

THE Federal Government, on Thursday, restated its commitment towards meeting the 2017 deadline for migration from analogue to digital broadcasting.

Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, stated this at the Abuja launch of the switch-over.

According to the VP, the government remained irreversibly commited to meeting the 2017 deadline.

He then appealed to state and local government areas to be involved in the project because of the gains it would bring for citizens.

According to him, the successful launch of the pilot scheme in Jos, in April, clearly demonstrated the gains of Digital Switch Over as viewers in the pilot are able to enjoy 15 free channels covering news, sports, music and business.

Osinbajo observed that local industry was already experiencing a boost from the new vista in digital economy, with several indigenous companies now manufacturing Set-Top-Boxes.

He said, “I am also pleased to note that the signal distributor for the Abuja switchover, Pinnacle Communications is a wholly owned Nigerian firm, which has invested considerably in transmission services and will be transmitting 30 channels even in this first phase.

“Indeed as I said at the presentation of the budget to the National Assembly on Tuesday, strong partnership with the private sectors is a defining strategy of our economic plan.

“Technology is transforming our lives and livelihoods daily in new and more dramatic ways. For some of us born over three decades ago it is even more amazing.

“The pioneering TV signals of the Western Region of Nigeria TV (the first in Africa then) was a wonder, then we thought  black and white TV was the end of change in TV broadcasting until Coloured TV came. We didn’t know that video and audio quality could get so close to real life encounters until the digital revolution and now high definition TV. What next?

“Digitization will create jobs in the area of content and software development; provide the platform for film producers and musicians to release their productions directly to households. This will of course substantially cut off piracy.

“Let me restate for emphasis that this government is irreversibly committed to meeting the June 2017 deadline for the switchover in the West African sub-region and also to the roll-out of the DSO in all the states of the federation.

“I appeal to all state and local governments to be actively involved in the project because of the obvious advantages to our people,” he said.

Also speaking, Alhaji Mohamed said that the objective of the migration was not just to move customers and Nigerians from analogue to digital in a simple technical sense, but to ensure a total overhaul of the whole TV watching experience and the economy around it.

He said that the core principles of democracy remained equality, common participation, total access to information for all citizens, economic empowerment of all participants in the industries and a level playing ground for Nigerian companies and entrepreneurs to build viable businesses.

“By these, we are expecting to help diversify our economy by properly exploiting our great talent and creative human and natural resources, which we strongly believe are second to none in Africa,” he said.

He said, “There are a number of initiatives that we are focusing on in order to achieve a credible and effective development of our TV and production industries, and to successfully develop the digital economy.

He said, “My function as the Minister of Information and Culture gives me the humble privilege of looking at the TV, the movie, the music and the advertising industries from an aerial perspective.

“While studying where these industries currently stand and looking at the potential benefits of the new digital landscape for all of them, I see the need to grow the advertising industry, since that is the oil needed to make this ‘Free TV’ environment thrive and create rewards for the producers and great content for the consumer.

“Our digital environment will give equal opportunity to everyone to be rewarded for investment in creativity, and that is what the regime of forensic Audience Measurement, which Digitisation offers, will afford. If it is your program people are watching, you will be the recipient of higher revenues because the advertisers will run to you.

“We are going to forbid all forms of monopoly so that all Nigerians can get access to all types of content without having to expend money on multiple devices. With the Set-top box you are getting your Free-to-Air channels, you must be allowed to pay for and buy any and every channel allowed to be broadcast in the country. Media pluralism is a cornerstone of democracy and this fact should be reflected in the plurality of independent and autonomous media and in diversity of media content accessible to all.

“Let me use this opportunity to reiterate the government’s unwavering commitment to meeting the set deadline of June 2017 for the analogue to digital switch over here in Nigeria. The DSO train that took off in Jos has now arrived in Abuja, from where it is set to move to other parts of the country unhindered.”