In what may look like taking a cue from the Nigerian states’ governments, the Ghanaian National Media Commission (NMC) has assured that the country’s migration from the analogue to Digital Switch Over (DSO) in television broadcasting would be made simpler for citizens with highly subsidized set-top-boxes (STBs).
It would be recalled that in all of the states where the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has switched off analogue transmission in Nigeria, states’ governors had been donating thousands of STBs freely to households and in some cases, subsidized.
Explaining more, the Executive Secretary of the NMC, Mr George Sarpong noted that the government would supply customised set up boxes at subsidised cost for people who could not afford to buy digital television to enjoy the transition.
Speaking at a sensitisation forum on the digital migration in Sunyani, organised by the NMC with funding support from the Frederich Ebert Stiftung (FES), a German Non-Governmental Organisation that focused among others capacity building of the media, Sarpong said though the country had not been able to meet the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) deadline for the migration, processes for the migration was steadily progressing.
Digital broadcasting, he said had several advantages including; clearer images and efficiency and therefore advised the media to support in the public education for citizens to understand the process.
That notwithstanding, Sarpong said digital television broadcasting was not all that perfect as it had its major challenges ranging from governance, ownership and legalities which needed to be addressed.
