As the country continues in its drive to achieve complete Digital Switch Over (DSO) before the tenure of this administration ends, the NTA-Star (Startimes) and the Integrated Television Services (ITS) have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to fast-track this move.
With this MoU, ITS will utilise the structures and facilities of NTA-Star, a terrestrial payTV platform, spread across the country, for signal distribution.
Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony, on Monday in Abuja, the minister of information and culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said the MoU is a game changer in the quest of the administration to achieve complete DSO before their tenure elapses.
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- DSO: Startimes, integrated television services sign MoU on improved digital services
- DSO: Startimes, integrated television services sign MoU on improved digital services
He said the MoU, which is in line with the government white paper on transition from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting in Nigeria, lays the foundation for a working relationship between the two entities to drive the rollout of the DSO in the country.
“The MoU that has just been signed will fast track our rollout and take the DSO to a higher pedestal. That’s why I described it as a game changer.
“ITS will henceforth become the signal distributor on the structure of NTA-Star. In essence, the signing of this MoU has given effect to the whitepaper on the DSO, which bars terrestrial payTV from self-carriage in Nigeria.
“At the moment, NTA-Star has over 70 transmission sites spread across 35 states and the FCT, thereby effectively covering a large portion of this country with their signals.
“We will strive to cover at least 70% of the country with Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) signal and then deploy Direct To Home (DTH) to provide 30% signal to areas in difficult terrains such as riverine and mountainous areas,” the minister said.
Mohammed further said that henceforth, the set up boxes (decoders) of NTA-Star will have multiple encryptions, which will enable viewers to enjoy freeview content alongside paid content.
He noted that this MoU will open the floodgates for channels to be licensed by NBC, thereby creating jobs and enhancing television experience with quality and compelling content.
In his address, the Director General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Malam Balarabe Shehu Ilelah said this digital revolution will create wealth of opportunities for the teeming youth through the set-top box manufacturing and distribution value-chain.
“This is in addition to having a better reception of signals and diverse channels which addresses the issue of digital divide between urban and rural populace.
“Economically, the project will boost our revenue generation from the resale of spectrum and job opportunities from freeTV installation, activation and maintenance,” he added.
“They will also introduce and adopt a simulcrypt technique to integrate free TV contents and NTA-Star contents (Pay TV) using DTT equipment across Nigeria.
“By this, we are expecting to transit the over 30 million TV households in Nigeria to digital broadcasting in the next few weeks. More significantly, we expect Nigeria to within a couple of months, switch-off analogue transmission in particular states that were already switched on and begin to harness the full potentials of a digital economy.
“It is important to emphasise that, NBC has in line with the provision of the DSO white Paper separated the function of broadcast signal distributor from broadcast content provider.”
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