NBC, CTO to host African Digital Migration forum in 2016

The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), on behalf of Nigeria, has signed an event hosting agreement with the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) to host the 11th African Digital Switchover 
Forum scheduled for May 11 – 13, 2016 in Abuja, Nigeria.

Signing agreement in Abuja, last week, the Director General of NBC, Mr. Emeka Mba described the hosting of the event by Nigeria as very significant to the country’s digital switchover project and the development of the broadcast industry; pledging the Commission’s total commitment to ensuring that Nigeria successfully hosts the Forum.

Secretary General of the CTO, Mr. Shola Taylor, who signed on behalf of CTO, noted that Nigeria won the hosting rights amongst other African countries that indicated interest because the NBC showed unrivalled interest and commitment to Nigeria’s successful hosting of the event. He assured the Commission of CTO’s full support towards the success of the proposed event.

The global event provides a unique and authoritative annual meeting point for policymakers and regulators to interact with broadcasters, content developers, broadcast network infrastructure providers and operators, equipment manufacturers and opinion leaders to discuss challenges, solutions and opportunities in the ever competitive and innovative broadcasting industry.

The event which has held 10 editions has been a major contributor to the global effort to migrate analogue broadcasting systems to more spectrum-efficient digital platforms, with discussions focused on challenges faced by Commonwealth countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Since its launch in South Africa in 2005, the event has been hosted predominantly by South Africa and in 2014 by Tanzania. Nigeria will be hosting it for the first time.
At the agreement signing were some top management staff of the Commission and other stakeholders.