The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, says the federal government’s Digital Switchover (DSO) project is ready for commissioning on June 17.

Mr Idris disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja while speaking with journalists after assessing DSO facilities put in place by the Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd. (NIGCOMSAT) in partnership with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

The DSO project, managed by the NBC, is Nigeria’s nationwide transition from analogue to digital terrestrial television broadcasting.

The project aims to improve broadcast quality, boost the digital economy, and free up spectrum for broadband.

The minister described the completion of the DSO project as an indication that President Bola Tinubu had fulfilled his promise to carry out reforms across sectors, especially in the broadcast industry.

“I think this is a new dawn for our country. The promise that President Bola Tinubu made that he is going to reform all sectors and we are seeing this reform in action in the broadcast industry.

“You recall that for many years, Nigerians have been grappling with this idea of the digital switchover. In other words, moving our transmissions from the analogue to the digital.

“Now this has happened and is ready to be inaugurated by June 17, this year,” he said.

According to him, while going around the facilities, many of the channels have already been unbundled.

“This is going to bring a lot of advantages to all the broadcasters, the viewers, and everybody that advertises.

“Now science is at play. I mean, if you are now viewing any particular station, you know who is viewing what, how many people are viewing.”

The minister said that the standard measurement absent in previous experiments was now being made available.

According to him, this will help advertisers make informed decisions about the kind of programming people are watching and what Nigerians want to watch across all demographics.

“So, it’s easy for you to now say, I want to put an advert on this channel or I want to put it on this channel. Who are you targeting?”

The minister lauded the collaboration between NIGCOMSAT, NBC, and the Ministries of Communication and Information and National Orientation for making the initiative happen.

He also thanked Mr Tinubu for providing all the resources required to deliver the project to Nigerians.

“It’s been such a shame in the past that Nigeria has not been able to achieve this. But now the digital switchover is here.

“Everybody now can watch whatever he wants to watch in real time and painless. Free TV everywhere for everybody.

“This will enable viewers, advertisers, and everybody to now take informed decisions about what he views on any particular channel.

“I think this is a great thing that is happening. And we know that by the time that we return here on June 17, when this is going to be officially unveiled to Nigerians, Nigerians will really be very happy for it.”

The managing director/CEO of NIGCOMSAT, Jane Egerton-Idehen, attributed the success of the DSO project to the strong collaboration among relevant agencies and the support given to NIGCOMSAT by the president.

Also speaking, the director-general of the NBC, Charles Ebuebu, said the commission had considered emerging technologies while designing digital terrestrial television broadcasting.

“The younger population like things on their mobile devices. That’s why we have put this there.

“We have also gone by way of satellites. So, rather than restricting content to just eight cities, we are all over Nigeria and beyond,” the NBC D-G said.

According to him, the NBC is updating the list of channels.

“We are going to have 100 channels by the day of launch, and even more because more content producers are talking to us.

“We are also bringing up content. We have six regional studios around the country.

“You don’t have to travel to Lagos or Abuja or Kano to go develop your content. You just go to the nearest regional studio and develop,” he said. 

(NAN)