As part of the efforts to bring Nigeria abreast of the rest of the world in broadcast technology, the Federal government has approved the White Paper on Migration from analogue to digital broadcasting by 2015.
Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, who briefed journalists on the outcome of Wednesday’s weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, presided over by Vice President Namadi Sambo in the absence of President Goodluck Jonathan who is on a week-long working vacation, said a team of experts and stakeholders to be known as (Digital-Television) DT-Team would be constituted by the president to ensure earnest implementation of the migration by 2015.
Maku, who briefed journalists alongside the Minister of Communications, Omobolaji Johnson also noted that the White Paper was drafted by a FEC committee set up two months ago to review and reconcile grey areas contained in the recommendations gathered from stakeholders’ consultations.
The minister also noted that the committee recommended that the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) by virtue of its assets and broadcast capabilities should be licenced as a sole public signal distributor, while a private sector signal distributor would also be registered “to open up the sector to competition and efficiency”.
Explaining further, Johnson said that the white paper gave approval for the inauguration of digital implementation team, adding that the team would be comprised of stakeholders in the industry and of course government officials who would have the responsibility of supervising the implementation over the next few years.
“We have a deadline of January2015 by which time we must have migrated to digital broadcasting and NBC would be the regulator, “she added.
Source: thenationonlineng.net