Nigerians to spend N700bn on decoders in 2015

This was made known by the Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), adding that except there was a policy to turnaround before then, all analogue television transmission in Nigeria would cease.

CWG also added that all exisiting television stations would cease to broadcast signals that could be directly received on television sets.

"The world is transiting to digital TV broadcasting and July 31, 2015 has been set as Nigeria's changeover date. Every television signal will have to pass through a set-top box or decoder before being received by a television set," the company announced through its Public Relations Manager, David Afolayan.

According to him, the big question is how this will come about. "Can Nigerian families really afford this, should they spend that much and what can anyone do to ameliorate the expenditure. The elephant in the room question is, will it all be worth it?" he asked.

Afolayan said, "To answer this question, let us look at the digital satellite TV service currently in the works from CWG and SES. The SES is one of the leading communication satellite operators in the world. Her fleet of satellites includes the Astra 2G craft whose footprint on the ku-band covers Nigeria and the rest of West Africa with high fidelity signals.

"The SES also has considerable expertise in digital broadcast including operating the HD+ high definition service in Germany as well as being the partner of choice for a variety of other operators. The SES' expertise extends beyond satellites to also include content management and integration into worldwide content distribution networks."

He added that CWG had been SES partner in data communications for the past 20 years, saying, "CWG operates both a teleport for the upload of signals to SES satellites as well as a Tier 3 Data Centre that provides hosting services for storage and management of content and signals."

Afolayan said CWG and SES had introduced a service that allowed any broadcaster to broadcast digital satellite signals that would be received using a variety of standard decoders.

These signals, he said, would be received all over Nigeria and West Africa. "The broadcasters will not need to change their existing equipment but will only need to make minor investment in digital encoders and they are good to go.

"This means, for instance, that Zamfara State TV can be received all over Nigeria as well as Osun State TV or Channels TV. It means state television broadcasting stations will no longer need to invest in expensive repeater stations in order to cover their states."

He added, "The Enugu man in Lagos will happily see Enugu State TV in Lagos. This is a staggering saving and expansion of reach for the regional or local broadcasters without the attendant significant cost outlay. For this alone, the television viewer will have received the value of digital television. Consider that, as of today, it is impossible to keep up with local news if you leave the locality."