Digital migration: Nigeria, S/Africa, 52 others still

By Victor Effiong

International Telecommunication Union, ITU, yesterday disclosed that after the deadline for the
switchover from analogue to Digital Terrestrial Television, DTT, Nigeria, South Africa and 52 other
countries had missed the deadline to migrate from analogue to digital broadcasting.
The 17 June deadline for switching off analogue television broadcasting in the UHF band was set by
ITU member-states at the Regional Radio Communication Conference in 2006, known as the GE06
Regional Agreement to which Nigeria was a signatory.

In a statement it issued yesterday, ITU said several countries which are party to the GE06
Agreement, as well as many who are not, have made the transition while others have not.
According to the ITU Secretary-General, Houlin Zhao, Today, 17 June (yesterday), marks a historic
landmark in the transition from analogue to digital television broadcasting.
The process, which began in June 2006, has re-envisioned the way the world watches and interacts
with TV and opened the way for new innovations and developments in the broadcast industry, he

said.
Though it gave condition for switching over as availability of funds, Nigeria has asked for an
extension by the ITU, with new focus on December 2017 for her to be able to migrate from analogue
to digital transmission.
Among the countries which failed to meet the deadline are Albania, Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan,
Bahrain, Belarus, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi,
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Colombia, Congo, Cte dIvoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of
Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Indonesia,
Iran, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mexico, Montenegro, Myanmar, Niger, Oman, Papua New
Guinea, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, South Sudan, Sudan,
Suriname, Swaziland, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Others are Armenia, Bangladesh, Belize, Central African Republic, Comoros, Egypt, Eritrea, GuineaBissau, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, Namibia, Sao Tome and
Principe, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Turkey.
Even though ITU did not in the statement say what it will do to countries which failed to meet the
deadline, Nigeria Broadcasting Commission, NBC, had on Tuesday in a statement said that the
main penalty Nigeria will face is that analogue signals will receive no protection in the event of
interference with or from digital signals from our neighbours, most of who are also unable to transit
to digital.
However, Kenya was reported to have met the deadline. A statement by Kenyas ICT Cabinet
Secretary, Dr. Fred Matiangi said:
We have come a long way but I am glad that we have embraced digital migration. But what is more
important to note is that these challenges have not been unique to Kenya as many countries
continue to deal with similar issues on their path to full digital TV broadcasting.
Digital migration refers to the shift from analogue broadcasting to digital broadcasting, involving
many changes in the transmission signals so that members of the public can buy high definition
television sets and dispose of their standard definition television sets.