Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The federal government wednesday rolled out the Digital Switch Over (DSO) in Ilorin, Kwara State, to enable Nigerians reap the benefits of transition from analogue to digital in broadcasting.
The DSO inauguration of Ilorin would now the pave the way for the roll out of DSO in Kaduna State friday rapidly extending digital television experience to all the six geo-political zones.
The DSO signal for Kwara State would be distributed by Integrated Television Services (ITS).
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, pledged the continuous and rapid rollout of digital television across the country, saying the benefits to the Nigerian people is huge.
He said government would not backtrack in the journey from analogue to digital television, even though the process has not been without hiccups.
The minister noted that the transition from analogue to digital would transform the entire television watching experience for the Nigerian people through economic empowerment and access to information, which is a key ingredient of democracy.
He said the key benefits of the DSO programme, which will help to achieve a credible and effective development of the digital economy, include the availability of over 30 digital channels to Nigerians without monthly subscription; the creation of tens of thousands of jobs through technical and manufacturing opportunities, especially the local production of Set-Top-Boxes or decoders.
Mohammed also said the DSO would catalyse the growth of the television advertising market by $400million per annum through audience measurement, and also create a N100 billion per annum free television distribution network for Nollywood, among others.
Dignitaries at the occasion included the Kwara State Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Mahmud Babatunde Ajeigbe, who stood in for the state governor; the Directors-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mallam Is’haq Modibbo Kawu; Mallam Yakubu Ibn Mohammed for NTA and the Chairman of Digiteam, Mr. Edward Amana.
