DSO: Nigeria ready for roll-out – Minister

The Federal Government has announced its readiness to roll out the Digital Switch Over (DSO) in broadcasting in the next few weeks, as a practical demonstration of its commitment to the project.
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the announcement in Quincy, U.S., during a meeting with the executives of Gates Air.
He said the DSO, first launched in Jos in April 2016, was ready to be rolled out in six states of Kaduna, Kwara, Delta, Enugu, Gombe and Osun.
He said the switch over from analogue to digital television was ‘’irreversible’’ because the DSO was a ‘’game changer’’ that would bring immense benefits to Nigerians and help the government to achieve one of its cardinal goals, the diversification of the economy.
‘’The DSO is very important to this Administration, because of the limitless potentials that it represents. For us as a government, DSO goes beyond just receiving digital transmission but an avenue to create jobs and ignite the huge creative potentials of our youths. It is also a solution to some of the intractable problems affecting the creative industry, including piracy and distribution.
‘’Seeing some of the equipment being shipped to Nigeria for the DSO project has reinforced our belief in the ability of Pinnacle Communications Limited (one of the two signal distributors for the project) to meet its roll-out targets,’’ he said.
Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on DSO, Sunday Katung, said: ‘’We seem to be heading in the right direction, after several misses, and I can now confidently speak on the project when I return to Nigeria.’’
Director-General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Malam Ishaq Kawu Modibbo, said the DSO project would be delivered on a modern platform because of the partnership involving the Ministry of Information and Culture, the NBC and the signal distributors.
Chief Executive Officer of Gates Air, Mr. Phil Argyris, assured of the company’s readiness to work with Nigeria to ensure the success of the DSO project, saying: ‘’We never let our customers down.’’