Digital TV: Pay-As-You-Go to commence in Nigeria soon — Lawmaker

The much anticipated pay-as-you-go services for digital satellite television may soon become a reality in Nigeria, the Deputy Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Communication, Hon Idem Unyime, has said.

This was as amendment efforts to the National Broadcasting Commission Act, co-sponsored by himself, Hon Odebunmi Olusegun and Hon Dachung Musa Bagos, advanced on Thursday after being read the second time.

Unyime, who represents Ukanafun/Oruk Anam Federal Constituency of Akwa Ibom State, said when passed into law, it will also give the NBC the power to fix prices for digital television.

The lawmaker was optimistic that the Bill would be passed into law as quickly as possible to assuage the inconvenience Nigerians have so far endured as far as cable television is concerned.

The Bill, he said, would also break the monopoly in the broadcasting sub-sector and create more employment with more investors coming in.

He said following the cries of Nigerians about the current payment arrangement, they had taken up the assignment and directed the NBC, which is the regulator of the broadcasting industry, to implement the pay-as-you-go service.

Howecer, in the course of the assignment, they discovered that the law did not empower them to do so.

“We discovered that there was a lacuna in the Act that regulates the broadcasting industry in Nigeria and the gap there is that the NBC, who is the regulator does not have the powers to fix or determine price or tariff for these operators in the broadcasting industry,” he said. Unyime said.

He added that following this bottleneck, they had to resort to amend the Act that established the NBC, so it can have full powers to call the digital television service providers to order when it comes to pricing policy in Nigeria.

The lawmaker therefore begged Nigerians to be patient as the Bill will soon be passed into law.

“The current House based on the past antecedents, based on the records that they have achieved so far, I know that now the Bill has been referred to the Committee for them to do the final working on it, it would not take much time. It is going to come back for third reading, which I believe we are still going to pass it and send for concurrence in the Senate and after that we are going to expect presidential assent.

“I want to assure Nigerians that after the passage of this Bill, the issue of price increment that happens without the control of the regulator, that happens when Nigerians are not expecting, that happens even when the product is not consumed, it is going to be a thing of the past. I want Nigerians to be happy, patient and hopeful that in a short time, these issues are going to be addressed.

“Apart from the tariff, another thing the Bill is seeking to address is the issue of monopoly. For me, broadcasting industry in Nigeria is supposed to be one of the sub-sectors that has a lot of potential in terms of employment and creativity, but because of the way it is being regulated today, because of the way it is being managed today, all those expectations, and all those potentials cannot really be achieved.

“So when this Bill is passed into law, it would also give the NBC the powers to open up the sub-sector so that more players can be brought on board. We need to broaden the system so that both local and international investors can come in and open up the system where we can have varieties.

“You can see what is obtainable today in the telecom industry. Today it is a sector that is so liberal and everybody would want to go in because it is a free market. So that is what we are looking at in the broadcasting industry. Very soon by the time it is passed it is going to be a free market where everybody has a level playing ground.

“Right now there are a lot of investors that want to come in but the monopoly that is rocking that particular sub-sector cannot accommodate new entrants into the system. So that is one thing the Bill is also seeking to address. So that apart from giving Nigerians benefit for the money they pay, it would also add to the employment issue that Nigerians are yearning for. It is going to create a lot of employment,” he said. (Daily Independent)