Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, will witness a communications blackout if the country fails to migrate from analogie to digital broadcasting, in line with the June 2015 mandate of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), industry insiders have warned.
This communications blackout, according to them, could have grave national security implications as it is expected to severely inhibit information exchange amongst the nation’s myraid of security agencies. Digital Broadcasting Migration (DBM) is a process in which broadcasting services offered on the traditional analogue technology are replaced with digital based networks over a specific period. After taking several years to fashion out a feasible working procedure, Nigeria, is readying itself to kick off the pilot phase in Jos, the Plateau State capital.
Experts are of the view that the country is far off the mark in terms of implementation timeline, adding that this may hinder Nigeria from switching over. This development, they say is particularly worrisome in view of the spate of insecurity in the nation. Some of the arms of Nigeria’s security community expected to be affected include: The Nigeria Police Force (NPF), State Security Services (SSS), The Nigerian Army, The Nigerian Navy, The Nigerian Air Force, Defense Intelligence Agency, Nigerian Maritime Administration & Safety Agency, amongst others. All countries of the world are expected to make that digital migration switch, and should Cameroon, Benin Republic, Chad or Niger meet the deadline and Nigeria doesn’t, there would be interference in communication signal in Nigeria and within those countries too.
“Heavens will not fall if Nigeria fails to meet the June 2015 deadline, but there are grave social-economic consequences for the country”, said Emeka Mba, director general, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in an interview. According to him, the fundamental implication of not meeting the deadline would be signal interference from other countries that have would have migrated after the deadline elapses. Mba, who lamented that lack of funding constitutes a major drawback to meeting the deadline, said the nation will not be competitive in the global digital arena, and new businesses expected to spring up as a result digital migration will be lost.
Shedding more light on the national security implication of Nigeria’s failure to meet the migration deadline, Emewo Anselm Biakolo, a professor of communications and Dean, School of Media and Communications, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, said, “High powered transmissions may lead to interference from (or by) neighbouring countries, which could in turn create a compromise of national security: due to critically affected national sectors like Broadcasting, Telecommunications, Maritime (maritime communication), Aviation (aeronautic communication)”.
In view of this, experts are calling for multi-level stakeholder involvement to ensure that the country meets the deadline. Already, the federal government is planning to split the Nigerian Television Authority’s (NTA) operations into two completely independent parts. A new signal transmission company will emerge from NTA, as part of the new licensing regime of the NBC which is expected to give digital migration a big push. Speaking more on the new transmitting company, Mba said at a recent industry conference that there exist a white paper on the digitisation process which stressed the use of NTA as signal carrier for transmission, adding that the NTA Act is in the process of been amended. According to him, the new transmitting firm, that would emerge from NTA, will be achieved through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative.
Ben Uzor Jr
