DIGITAL SWITCH OVER AND MATTERS ARISING

The resuscitation of the DSO is commendable

After missing several deadlines, Nigeria has once again rekindled the Digital Switch Over (DSO) project to align the country with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) requirements. The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced that the project is to be launched nationwide on 17 June 2026, with 100 free television channels for Nigerian subscribers as additional benefit of the roll out. The resuscitation of the DSO is a laudable development, though the scheme has failed to deliver on any of the hyped benefits to the country after all the fanfare and expectations that greeted its pilot launch in Jos, Plateau State, on 30 April 2016.

 The projection that $1 billion will be unlocked from spectrum has been blighted by logistical hiccups and other economic losses and accumulated debts to service providers, caused by delays in the completion of the DSO. Apart from erratic transition progress, regulatory bottlenecks and funding gaps have mitigated the auctioning of the 700/800 MHz bands to mobile operators. The inability of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to auction some 5G spectrum slots resulted in its failure to meet its revenue targets. Experts continue to warn that the groundswell of constraints in meeting migration deadlines could cause Nigeria massive loss of revenue totaling N9.3 trillion, putting the sub-Saharan Africa at risk of losing thousands of jobs.

Licensed local manufacturers of Set-Top Box (STB) had in the past voiced concerns over alleged preferential treatment accorded foreign competitors at the expense of the 13 licensed local manufacturers. The issue, according to them, could potentially stymie local production capacity and technology transfer with risk of job contraction. That outcry was beside the alarm voiced over delays in project funding and outright misappropriation of N10 billion grant towards the local manufacturing of STB. With Nigeria projecting the manufacturing of 12 million STBs, failure to address these issues could potentially undermine the transition from analogue to digital broadcasting in Nigeria.

One of the main benefits of the roll out, to be managed by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), is the anticipated transition from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting. President Bola Tinubu had approved a N10 billion grant to the NBC, which will enter into strategic partnership with the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) to enhance nationwide coverage and expedite the DSO process and ensure successful rollout of the digital switchover dividends. Beyond the vaunted conversion of Free-to Air-analogue to digital broadcasting, the successful realisation of the DSO will boost the flailing effort in diversifying the Nigerian economy, with it holding so much promise in job creation and value chain addition. 

The move to relaunch the DSO is an opportunity at image redemption for the NBC, whose horrendous handling of the project largely resulted in missed switchover deadlines in 2007, 2012, 2015 and 2017. In those years, while Nigeria strutted, less resourced countries, including in Africa, completed their switchover programmes. The DSO is a matter of strategic national importance. Unfortunately, however, its implementation for several years without a legal framework is synonymous with the country’s usual arbitrary approach to matters of national importance and aspiration.

In 2021, the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration carried out an elaborate flag-off ceremony of the second phase in Lagos with the establishment of a 13-member ministerial task force headed by then Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed. The launch followed the approval by the Federal Executive Council of N9.4billion for the payment of outstanding debts to service providers. There were projections at the time that the broadcasting industry and digital economy will grow through increased advertising, revenue from Nollywood and value-added services. It is therefore our hope that the June launch of the DSO will turn those aspirations to reality.