Director General, National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Emeka Mba, has said the Federal Government would spend over $60 billion transitting from analog broadcast stations to digital stations.
Mba who spoke over the weekend in Abuja at an event to mark 22nd anniversary of NBC, explained that the amount included what government and broadcast stations would spend going digital, emphasizing that NBC would only coordinate and would not have the funds with it.
He revealed that the commission has issued 334 licenses to TV and Radio Stations, including 109 TV stations 167 Radio station while MDS had 36 with campus radio station numbering 22.
The NBC boss who said the organization was using Jos in Plateau State as a pilot scheme stated that it has achieved 92 per cent coverage of the state and would reach 100 per cent level within the next 30 days.
“We have switched off all analog stations in Plateau State and have commenced digital with TV stations like NTA, AIT and others whom NBC had given digital services so as to produce digital programmes” he said.
Mba described the Nigerian media as the most vibrant in Africa pointing out that the International Telecommunications Union ITU had set January 2015 deadline for the conversion from analog to digital broadcast, assuring that Nigeria would be digitally covered by June, 2015.
“Our checks indicate that the United States spent more the $1.6 billion to convert from analog to digital, Britain £1 billion pounds while France expended €2 billion Euro, but we would apply three different options based on the data from the Bureau of Statistics. We also would need about 40 million set of boxes which of course would be assembled here in Nigeria,” he said.
The DG informed that in doing this those who live in rural areas, which is about 33 per cent and under poverty live should be considered as they also have great need to have access to televisions and radio.
On challenges facing the commission, Mba remarked that since Nigeria was moving into election next year, there would be need to adequately inform and sensitise the citizens not only for the election but also for the new emergencies, including the Ebola virus.
“Although in my view is that the media has done so well in sensitizing people not to entertain fears but to imbibe the spirit of cleanliness,” he emphasized.
He also noted that Nigerians were challenged on the issue of insecurity in some parts of the country which according to him makes it very critical that people must have access to information.
Mba said he has noted the challenges media owners face adding that NBC would continue to do its best more especially to ensure the success of transmitting from the analog to digital.

FG to spend $60bn on digital broadcast –NBC