Digitisation: NBC to Raise N100bn from Sale of Spectrum Bands

Emeka Mba

• Stakeholders blame Jonathan’s govt inability to meet deadline

Adebiyi Adedapo in Abuja

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has concluded plans to raise the funds required to bankroll the digitisation process through the sale of broadcasting spectrum bands. 

The Director General of the commission, Mr. Emeka Mba, gave the hint monday in Abuja, during the commission’s first annual lecture, theme: ‘New Media, Convergence an the future of Broadcasting: Greedy Telcos, Naive Broadcasters and the Scramble for Spectrum.”

This is just as stakeholders blamed the former President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration for NBC’s failure  to meet the July transition deadline.

The Chairman, Radio, Television and Theatre Arts Workers Union (RATTAWU), Yemisi Bamgbose, at the event stated that the digitisation would not be possible if government does not bankroll the process.

Bamgbose maintained that if NBC is not properly funded, the 2017 deadline agreed by ECOWAS countries would be mirage for Nigeria.
“There is no way any country can achieve migration from analogue to digital broadcasting without adequate funding of the organisation that would mid-wife it. Two year ago, we told NBC clearly that they will not be able meet the June 2015 deadline, because we know that government was not funding the organisation, except it is properly funded, even the 2017, to me is not realistic,” Bangbose said.

Also, the Chairman, federal government digital team saddled with the responsibility of achieving the migration, Mr. Eddy Amana, in his remarks noted that his team did not get the necessary funding to execute the assignment. 

“We didn’t get the support and necessary funding then, we look forward to meeting the newly agreed deadline,” Amana said.

When confronted with the issues, the NBC Director General said: “Few years ago, when I got this job, I thought we were going to make it, but we couldn’t make it, because we expected funding and that didn’t come. But I am hopeful now. I cannot sit here on my job and tell you that we cannot, I am confident that we will make-it.”

He however disclosed that the commission would leverage on revenue from the sale of spectrum bands.

“We are looking at a very creative of leveraging on our spectrum to pave way for digitisation, that is where we are, we have received approval for that, and. We are going to brief Mr. President very soon on the matter. But I think that that is the only solution at hand now.”

“The spectrum are valued at about a N100 million, it is not just one particular spectrum, it is a band of spectrum, depending on how government decides  to aportion it, but from the initial analysis digiteam did,  it is about N100 billion for all the spectrum, we don’t necessarily need to sell all of them at this time,”

Speaking on the illegal operation of the pirate radio station ‘Radio Biafra’ Mbah said; “We didn’t give them a license, what we are doing is to continue our own investigations, we will do what we call neutralising the signals which is currently on-going.”

He promised that perpetrators of the crime would not go unpunished.

“ My understanding is that they have resumed. But I don’t want to speak about this, becuase it gives them more and more publicity. All I can tell you is that all the people involved, this is not something that they can get away with, government may act slow, but they will all be arrested and prosecuted.”