Laws, Poor Facilities Hamper Nigeria's Digitization

Several inhibiting factors including lack of enabling laws, poor infrastructure and a general lack of preparedness on the part of operators, have forced Nigeria to make a volte-face on its scheduled June 17, deadline for migration from analogue to digital broadcasting, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now report. The new date is now January 2015 few months short of the June 17 2015 deadline set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for its members to move over the digital broadcasting touted as the next big thing in broadcast evolution. Digital broadcasting will make better viewing pleasure; boost the telecommunication industry, as it would free much needed spectrum for broadband penetration. Despite the best efforts of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the government agency empowered to regulate the broadcasting industry, it is doubtful if Nigeria would meet the new target. Also with various ministers overseeing different government ICT agencies and parastatals on varied pages as regards regulation convergence, Nigeria’s march to digital broadcasting appears even sluggish. Yomi Bolarinwa, director general, NBC had recently while appraising the activities of his commission with visiting members of the House of Representatives committee on information and national orientation, led by its chairman Umar Jibrin, voiced concerns over Nigeria’s slow steps to digitization. “Here in Nigeria, the government has approved June 17, 2012 as the digital switch over date but we are yet to get the policy framework and government white paper. It is just three years to the ITU deadline of June 17, 2015 and the Commission is worried that Nigeria may not beat the deadline. The only way to meet up is for the government to come up with a formidable policy,” said Bolarinwa. As the House Members were leaving, Senate committee on information and media also called on the NBC. Bolarinwa told the Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe led committee that the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting is achievable through timely action in terms of enabling law and government backing as the project is policy driven. But government seem to have woken with a start as Labaran Maku, minister of Information, said last week that the migration to digital broadcasting will boost television signals, and sync Nigeria with the rest of the global community. Namadi Sambo, vice president of Nigeria who presided over last week’s FEC meeting was presented with a ‘White Paper’ the government ordered reviewed on the matter two months earlier. The paper presented by Pius Anyim, secretary to the government, recommended licensing of not more than three broadcast signal distributors at the switch-over to digital broadcasting in 2015. Government’s thinking is that there would be separate signal distributors for both public and private broadcasters. The government paper also recommended inauguration of an implementation committee made up of seasoned broadcasters and industry stakeholders. “The white paper gave approval for the inauguration of digital implementation team. This team will be comprised of stakeholders in the industry of course including government officials who will have the responsibility of supervising this implementation over the next few years,” said Maku. The Information minister noted that: “We would be licensing at least two signal distributors; one will be public signal distributor that will be comprised of the broadcasting access of NTA, FRCN and the VON. We also will be licensing another private signal distributor to provide the necessary competition that will give values to consumers of broadcasting content.” He also unwittingly drew a parallel with his counter-part, Mrs. Omobola Johnson in the Ministry of Communications Technology, who has been on the forefront of ICT convergence in the country. At a stakeholders’ meeting held earlier this year in Lagos, Johnson had spoken in favour of a converged ecosystem that would see broadcast and telecom regulation come under a single platform. But Maku made it clear that broadcasting would continue to be under the regulatory framework of the national broadcasting commission (NBC). “We have a deadline of January 2015 by which time we must have migrated to digital broadcasting and NBC will be the regulator,” said Maku. Bayo Banjo, president of Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) told Nigeria CommunicationsWeek that migrating to digital broadcasting was a welcomed development. He had predicted government’s licensing of not more than two broadcasting signal distributors in an earlier interview he granted this newspaper. “As for digitization, it is a welcome development. What I think is going to happen eventually is that there will emerge what is called centre point transmission companies. That means we would have two companies in Lagos that would broadcast; because a frequency allocation of 8MGHz in the olden days carrying one channel can now carry 14 to 15 channels. I think what would happen is that they would probably have central points for broadcast and these companies would provide channels,” said Banjo.