How Nigeria is improving on TV digitisation – NBC

The National Broadcasting Commission, NBC, says it has achieved tremendous success in the recently launched television Digital Switchover, DSO, in Abuja.

The Director-General of the commission, Ishaq Kawu-Modibbo, made the remark while briefing journalists on the success of the Abuja Digitisation on Friday.

He said that in the three weeks of DSO in Abuja, the commission had been able to distribute more Set Top Boxes than it did in eight months in Jos.

The NBC boss added that over 100,000 boxes were in the residences of people in the FCT, adding that only eight boxes had so far been returned to the commission.

He added that the NBC was still expecting a lot more boxes into the process to ensure a hitch free exercise in the FCT.

Mr. Kawu-Modibbo, however, said that over the last three weeks, NBC had gone through some of the most incredible experiences of its professional lives in trying to do the DSO.

“I am aware that a lot of people have complained that they have problems in activating their boxes and that has been the most central point in terms of the work we have done.

“The major problem is communication.

“If you put on the box, you will notice some telephone numbers. We have stopped using those numbers. The numbers were imprinted in the system way before the Jos switchover.

“But some issues arose and we changed our Call Centre Operators but the numbers could not be removed from the set top boxes.

“That was why people are having problem in trying to reach those numbers but we have started a communication process to try to get people to understand that we have a new set of numbers.

“Nobody could have envisaged the level of enthusiasm that came with Abuja switchover.

“In the first weeks of the rollout, we were getting more than 150,000 calls to make enquiries about how to activate their boxes’’, he said.

He said that at the inception of the process, the selected Call Centre Operators engaged 30 call centre agents to handle calls from the public.

The DG, however, said the number of Call Centre agents had been increased to 90 and it would be increasing as DSO moves to other parts of the country.

He said that some of the new numbers were toll free, adding “ we are collecting data on daily basis, and doing analysis.

He said that 27 channels were currently operating in Abuja and assured that the remaining three channels would eventually come up to make them 30.

He expressed optimism that with the support the commission was getting from the Federal Government, the country would meet up with the June, 2017 switchover deadline.

“We think that June 2017 is a very challenging date for all of us but if you notice last year I was saying that for me I remain an incurable optimist.

“ I think the government is determined to make sure that we succeed and I have very high hopes that we would achieve DSO all over the Federal Republic of Nigeria.“
(NAN)