" ITREALMS: Digital Migration: NBC unveils Home Assistance Scheme

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Digital Migration: NBC unveils Home Assistance Scheme



The Director General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Emeka Mba, has announced a Home Assistance Scheme which is aimed at enabling Nigerians realize the digital switchover, ITRealms reports.

He stated that government would bear part of the cost of the Set Top Boxes in order to protect Nigerians from cut-throat prices, even as the scheme would also address the concerns of the investors who have pumped in huge amount of money into the project of manufacturing the boxes. He assured Nigerians that the boxes when produced would not cost more than N1500.

Mba was speaking at the official signing of partnership agreement between Media Concepts International Limited (NBC licensed Set Top Box manufacturers) and KAON Media, South Korea (MCI chosen OEM partner) with National Broadcasting Commission, Tuesday in Lagos.

The NBC boss thanked both MCI and KAON for being part of the digital migration process, stressing that Nigeria offers a huge market and with Digital switchover the entire value chain in Broadcasting will change, switching from analogue to digital, adding that beyond being able to watch television with the set top box it can give you internet services thereby shutting the digital divide in the country.

He also thanked the indigenous investors like MCI who are investing in this project, adding  that there will  be massive job creation as a result of the project bearing in mind that the manufacturing of the boxes will be done in Nigeria.

The DG who said the digital migration project include set top boxes, signal distribution and content, said the 2017 switchover date is sacrosanct not closing the door for other possibilities because according to him “we are switching off people and government would like to carry everybody along.” He warned those who may wish to embark on brisk businesses by bringing boxes from outside to kill the dream. He said there are 13 NBC certified companies for the boxes  and any other set top boxes from other sources will not work in Nigeria.

He also stated that there is budget that have been mapped out to tackle e-waste resulting from the disused televisions and set top boxes because all electronic devices have life span. He said because many analogue television sets will be affected there will be locations for dumping so that appropriate authorities could collect them for disposal.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

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