Digital Switch Over: 97,000 Households Get Free Set-Top Boxes in Jos

No fewer than 97,000 households in Jos have so far benefited from free distribution of Set-Top Boxes in the pilot scheme of Digital Switch Over (DSO).

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the disclosure on Monday in Jos at a post mortem meeting with stakeholders to review the April 30th pilot roll out of DSO.

Mohammed expressed satisfaction with the project and assured that the entire Plateau State would be covered before moving to other states.

He said that those in possession of the coupon for the distribution should come out for their set top boxes.

“We have reviewed the roll out programme and we are quite satisfied with the progress made so far. We have also decided on how better we can optimise the scheme. We have done well in Jos, we should be able to cover the whole of Plateau before going to other states,” he said.

The minister said that the meeting also discussed some technical issues aimed at getting better service.

He reassured that the nation would meet the June 2017 deadline for complete digitisation of broadcasting.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of Set-Top Boxes manufacturing in Nigeria, Geoffrey Ohuabunwa, has said that four of the licensed companies for the local production of the boxes were already in place.

He said the four factories were located in Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Oshogbo and Calabar.

“The plants are ready, what is holding them now is just the equipment which are already in the ports. The minister has given us assurances that the Nigeria Customs Service will release the equipment within the week and once they are out definitely in a month time the plants will be ready,” he said.

Ohuabunwa said the process of employment of workers in the factories was ongoing.