FG to roll out digital switchover in Lagos, Kano, others

Nigerian government has announced the dates to roll out the switchover from analogue to digital in Lagos, Kano, and three other states.

While the Digital Switchover (DSO) would commence in the five states between April and August, the exercise would kick off in the remaining states thereafter.

Mr. Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information and Culture, made this known on Saturday when he led members of the Ministerial Task Force on DSO on an advocacy visit to Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The Minister noted that the government had launched the switchover in Jos, the Plateau State capital on April 30, 2016, as well as four more states – Kwara, Kaduna, Enugu and Osun – and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

“We are now moving rapidly to cover the remaining 31 states. We are kick-starting the new rollout here in Lagos State on April 29, 2021.

“Kano State follows on June 3, 2021, Rivers State on July 8, 2021, Yobe State on July 15, 2021, and Gombe State on August 12, 2021, with more states slated thereafter,” the minister told the governor.

He explained that the decision to transition from analogue to digital television followed a treaty agreement signed on June 16, 2016, at the Regional Radiocommunication Conference (RRC-06) in Geneva, Switzerland, to usher in ‘all-digital’ terrestrial broadcast services for sound and television by a target date of June 17, 2015.