The Federal Government has announced its readiness to roll out the Digital Switch Over (DSO) in broadcasting in all the six geo-political zones in the country in the next few weeks, as a practical demonstration of its commitment to the DSO project.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the announcement in Quincy, the United States (U.S.), on Tuesday during a meeting with the
executives of Gates Air, a market leader in transmission solutions for
broadcast network operators.
The Minister said the DSO, which was first launched in Jos in April
2016, is ready to be rolled out in six states across the country – Kaduna, Kwara, Delta, Enugu, Gombe and Osun – covering the six geo-political zones.
He said the switch over from analogue to digital television is
”irreversible” because the DSO is a ”game changer” that will bring
immense benefits to Nigerians and help the government to achieve one of
its cardinal goals, which is the diversification of the economy.
Mohammed said the meeting with the US company, which is a key
player in the DSO process, further confirms the government’s
commitment to the project, which has also been launched in Abuja.
”The DSO is very important to this Administration, because of the
limitless potentials that it represents. For us as a government, DSO
goes beyond just receiving digital transmission but an avenue to
create jobs and ignite the huge creative potentials of our youths. It
is also a solution to some of the intractable problems affecting the
Creative Industry, including piracy and distribution,” he said.
The Minister, who led a Nigerian team that includes the Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on DSO, Hon. Sunday Katung, and the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC),
Malam Ishaq Kawu Modibbo, inspected the facilities at the company’s
sprawling factory, where several equipment meant for the DSO roll-out
are currently being manufactured.
”Seeing some of the equipment being shipped to Nigeria for the DSO
project has reinforced our belief in the ability of Pinnacle
Communications Limited (one of the two signal distributors for the
project) to meet its roll-out targets,” he said.
For his part, the Chairman of the House Committee on DSO said he is in
Quincy, home of the 95-year-old Gates Air, as part of efforts to
ensure that the DSO process goes smoothly.
”We seem to be heading in the right direction, after several misses,
and I can now confidently speak on the project when I return to
Nigeria,” he said, describing Pinnacle Communications Ltd and Gates
Air as reliable partners.
Also speaking, Malam Modibbo assured that the DSO project will be
delivered on a modern platform because of the wonderful partnership
involving the Ministry of Information and Culture, the NBC and the
signal distributors.
The NBC Director-General described as a source of pride the benchmark
set with the Abuja roll-out of the DSO in December 2016.
Welcoming the delegation to his company, the Chief Executive Officer
of Gates Air, Mr. Phil Argyris, assured of the company’s readiness to
work with Nigeria to ensure the success of the DSO project, saying:
”We never let our customers down.”
Other members of the Nigerian team are the Chairman of Digiteam, Mr Edward Amana, and the Chairman of Pinnacle Communications, Sir Lucky Omoluwa.
