• Fixes second satellite launch for 2029
Olawale Ajimotokan in Abuja
The federal government has stated that over N60 billion has been spent on the Digital Switch Over (DSO) without achieving the project plan.
The Director General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Charles Ebuebu, disclosed this yesterday at a stakeholders meeting convened to resolve outstanding issues around the DSO implementation in Nigeria.
Ebuebu said in spite of the spending, the country has not yet attained Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) coverage across the country, including the inability of signal distributors to accomplish coverage all over the country.
He added that the DSO only spread in eight cities since the project started 16 years ago, noting that since Nigeria embarked on the migration, it has only sold about 1,300 plus set up boxes as against the 20 million TV households it ought to have accomplished.
“As of today, we are talking about 35 million to 40 million TV households in Nigeria.We’re not casting blames. We’re just saying that the plan that we had in place didn’t work and we have to go back to the drawing board,” Ebuebu said.
He said much has to be done to enable the successful transition to digital switch over, including achieving over N600 billion in advertising revenue.
Also speaking at the stakeholders meeting, the Managing Director/CEO, NIGCOMSAT Ltd, Mrs. Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen, said Nigeria planned to launch a second satellite in the second quarter of 2029, through IAI, the Israeli Aerospace Industry.
Egerton-Idehen noted that the current Satellite One, a geostationary satellite, has a shelf life that ends in 2026, adding Nigeria specifically chose to acquire a new satellite because it planned to carry defense traffic on it as it is going to be a software device.
According to Egerton-Idehen, the tender process for the satellite is technically over to replace Satellite One, which is 2.5 degrees and which Nigeria is currently using. She thanked President Bola Tinubu for giving approval for the acquisition of two satellites.
Meanwhile the federal government has hailed the major breakthrough in Nigeria’s digital broadcasting reform after stakeholders in the media and communications industry reached broad consensus on the rollout of the DSO programme.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, gave the commendation after a high-level stakeholder engagement involving regulators, broadcasters, signal distributors, content creators, manufacturers, and satellite operators.
The meeting ended with wide agreement on key pillars of the transition, including the adoption of a hybrid broadcasting model, continued relevance of DTT, stronger investment protection mechanisms, and sustained stakeholder engagement.
Idris described the consensus as a clear signal of industry readiness and shared commitment to repositioning Nigeria’s broadcasting sector for digital competitiveness and economic growth.
He noted that stakeholders were united in the view that the DSO is not merely a technical migration, but a transformational initiative capable of expanding jobs, boosting local content production, attracting investment, and strengthening Nigeria’s creative economy.
He stressed that the outcome reflected a mature understanding of national priorities over sectoral interests.
“The level of agreement we have achieved shows that stakeholders are aligned on the future of Nigeria’s broadcasting industry. This is a strong foundation for accelerated implementation,” Idris said.