In Nigeria, the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) has written formally to the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), raising serious concerns about the Commission’s proposed “Digital Switchover” (DSO), which BON contends is not a genuine digital switchover at all.
In a letter dated 19th May 2026, BON stated that after careful analysis, the NBC’s plan — delivered via NigComSat — constitutes the launch of a Direct-to-Home (DTH) aggregation platform, not a Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) transition as defined under international and Nigerian law.
BON pointed out that both the International Telecommunication Union’s GE06 Agreement and Nigeria’s 2012 White Paper on DSO — approved by the Federal Executive Council and gazetted — clearly define digital migration as the transition from Analogue Terrestrial Television to Digital Terrestrial Television. The twin objectives of a genuine DSO are to accommodate more channels using MPEG-4 compression and to release the 700/800 MHz spectrum for mobile broadband use.
BON further noted that many Nigerian broadcasters, including Channels TV, AIT, Arise TV, and TVC, already transmit on NigComSat and operate OTT platforms. In BON’s assessment, NBC is simply aggregating these existing channels onto dedicated NigComSat transponders and labelling it a DSO. BON also raised concerns about the NBC’s evolving role, warning that the regulator risks becoming a content aggregator on FreeTV — a development that would create a conflict of interest contrary to the law establishing the Commission and the spirit of the 2012 White Paper.
BON called on the NBC to urgently convene a stakeholder roundtable — comprising Signal Distributors, Set-Top-Box manufacturers, channel owners, and the Digiteam — to produce a new gazetted roadmap should the policy direction have shifted from DTT to satellite and OTT.
BON warned that proceeding unilaterally risks illegality and the wastage of public funds, and urged the NBC to educate the public on the full cost implications of DTH — including dish, decoder, and installation costs.
BON reaffirmed its commitment to a genuine digital migration that protects local broadcasting, preserves public funds, and fulfils Nigeria’s ITU obligations.
