StarTimes, a licensed Digital Terrestrial Television and multiple Award winners for best Digital Pay TV Provider in Nigeria, has likened the digital broadcasting switchover as would replicate success stories recoded with the GSM devolution in the country.
StarTimes, a multi-award winning Company is also the first licensed DTT platform in Nigeria.
Speaking to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek on telephone, Mr. Israel Bolaji public relations manager of StarTimes Nigeria said that the digital pay TV believes that its vision of providing every family with total entertainment, will pay off in the digital era.
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) had given June 2015 as deadline for global switchover to digital broadcasting.
Bolaji said, they are working with all stakeholders to ensure smooth switchover; expressing confidence that the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) team in conjunction with other stakeholders can beat the deadline.
“To us, it is not principally about the time or the season; it is about everything being put in place to make it convenient, affordable and with quality, the can migration can happen speedily.
“We are certain that digital switchover will happen. We are getting ready and collaborating with all other stakeholders,” he said.
The PR Manager said that, as the switchover takes effect nationwide, StarTimes is working assiduously to ensure the subscribers get the best of programming, particularly, local content.
“The pilot scheme started last year in Jos, Plateau State. At the moment, that is supposed to be the test-run. The new phase of broadcast media in Nigeria will be moving from that, this year. The Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) made the right decision when it started pilot switchover in Jos.
By now, the intelligent officers there would have noted the challenges and mapped out the required solutions and support to possible challenges. The need is that as we switchover nationwide, there will be no chaos or customers unable to enjoy their favourite television program and experience.
“We want to see the process gets to the next stage. Some people had compared the current process to what happened during the introductory phase of cashless society campaign. The CBN used some States in the Federation as pilot areas, and when it went nationwide, there weren’t many hiccups. I believe the competent and forward-thinking hands at the NBC can handle the processes well.
“The area we have to consider too is the financial requirements to get the critical infrastructure ready. Infrastructural development is very critical to the project. We believe there will be funds to put things in place. For us at StarTimes, we are doing a lot in developing our infrastructural capacity.
“At the same time, we have also not shied away from educating the users on this new experience, which will be beneficial to all stakeholders. As a step in the right direction, we have made our platform an affordable one and offered bouquets that will help people migrate to digital TV.
“The success story of GSM will be replicated in the broadcasting industry in this era of digital migration. The GSM came in and at a time a line sold for above N30, 000, but today, it is less than N200. We are foreseeing a situation the industry will trigger clusters of industries, because there are components of the switchover that will require companies to produce them. That’s why we started as early as to make it affordable and available to the people. We believe that with StarTimes, digital Tv will be for all in Nigeria,” he said.