Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) of Nigeria visits SES teleport
In recognition of the work SES Africa is doing to accelerate the Digital Switchover (DSO) process, Mallam Is'haq Modibbo Kawu, the Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) of Nigeria visited the teleport at the heart of the DSO project in Nigeria on Friday, June 16th 2017.
Mallam Is'haq Modibbo Kawu says "Good to know about this Nigerian company – CWG Plc and see the different things that you do for the Nigerian economy and the DSO in partnership with SES".
Digital Switchover
CCNL, a company licensed by the Nigeria National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), is the certified content aggregator and platform owner for the free-to air DTT and DTH platforms in Nigeria, and is playing a key role in the Nigeria Digital Switchover (DSO) process by getting channels onto the DTT network for terrestrial viewing and onto satellite, both offered under the brand – FreeTV
More than 25 million households will be connected as a result of the DSO and move from reception of limited number of analogue channels to at least 30 containing digital quality picture and sound.
“We use satellite technology to aggregate channels to the SES head-end for onward distribution to the DTT signal. Satellite’s comprehensive reach gives us the possibility to deliver our TV content to the entire population of Nigeria,” said Rajiv Mekkat CEO at CCNL/FreeTV
SES provides the space segment and specific ground services, while Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), SES partner teleport operator, locally manages the teleport services, to turnaround the channels from all over Nigeria by way of Microwave, Fibre, IP or satellite, Multiplexing and uplink as DTH and contribution for DTT.
“CWG has been in a strategic alliance with SES for over 15 years and we are proud to be part of the mainstay group for the landmark Digital Switchover (DSO) Pilot project in 2016; providing our teleport services and support. We look forward to replicating more successes aimed at revolutionizing the broadcast landscape in Nigeria in the year 2017 and beyond,” said James Agada, CEO, CWG Plc
The pilot for the DSO took place in the city of Jos, Plateau State, at the end of April 2016 with a number of channels being transmitted from the SES teleport to feed the DTT transmitter at Jos. This was followed by the launch in Abuja late December 2016.
“After having successfully supported the NBC in their DSOs in Jos and Abuja, we are ready to support further DSO efforts in the coming months,” said Theodore Asampong, Media Platforms at SES Video, a newly-created business unit for SES.
About SES
SES is the world-leading satellite operator and the first to deliver a differentiated and scalable GEO-MEO offering worldwide, with more than 50 satellites in Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) and 12 in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO). SES focuses on value-added, end-to-end solutions in two key business units; SES Video and SES Networks.
The company provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators, governments and institutions. SES’s portfolio includes the ASTRA satellite system, which has the largest Direct-to-Home (DTH) television reach in Europe, O3b Networks, a global managed data communications service provider, and MX1, a leading media service provider that offers a full suite of innovative digital video and media services.
