African Union of Broadcasting (AUB) on Monday commended Nigeria Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited for quality delivery in satellite service.
The Director-General of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Mr. Salihu Dembos, gave the commendation when he led a visiting delegation of the AUB on a facility tour to NigComSat in Abuja.
“The reason why we choose NIGCOMSAT out of many is the fact that we are proud of NigComsat performance.
“We have migrated to NIGCOMSAT and I can attest and tell you without any doubt that the service rendered by NIGCOMSAT is one the best since the history of NTA.
“So for the delegation, this is an opportunity to interact with the management of NIGCOMSAT and leverage on the valibility and availability of this satellite company in Nigeria which is the pride of Africa,” Dembos said.
He said the delegation of AUB were in Abuja for the 14th Ordinary Session of the General Assembly of the AUB with the theme “The Impact and Challenges of African Broadcasting in the Digital Transformation of the World”.
The AUB was formed on October 30, 2006 during the 43rd and final session of the Union of National Radios and Televisions of Africa (URTNA)’s General Assembly in Abuja, Nigeria.
The organisation was transformed into a new Union called AUB, in French, Union Africaine de Radiodiffusion (UAR).
The role of this leading African Broadcasting organisation is to promote and empower the sons and daughters of the continent through quality Radio and TV programmes.
Managing Director, NIGCOMSAT, Tukur Lawal, said there was a need to focus more on development in the digital space as well as to earn enough resources to sustain operations through the use of pictures and videos.
Lawal who was represented by NIGCOMSAT Executive Director of Administration, Hadi Mohammed, said the organisation had more than 50 Direct-To-Home channels on our (DTH) platform and deliver a wide range of media content to their customers’ homes.
“Our platforms also provide free-to-air, free-to- view and Pay TV channels as well as video-on demand.
“We have two Direct-To-Home (DTH) licensees and about twenty-nine (29) Direct Satellite Broadcasting (DSB) licenses and jointly transmit channels over NIGCOMSAT-1R.
“We have contributions from Egypt, Kenya and we welcome same from other African countries on the NigComSat 18 satellite,” he said.
Lawal said it was an undeniable fact that the future belongs to broadcasting, adding that Africa must rise to the occasion and be counted amongst those that would benefit in this digital age.
While highlighting some of the achievements of NIGCOMSAT, he affirmed that the company had the capacity and resources to provide cutting-edge services across Africa and beyond.
The Group Head, Satellite Broadcasting and Broadband Company, Nnaemego Obior said NIGCOMSAT Satellite was particularly suited for broadcast service delivery which covers a wide geographical area.
He also said it was the most cost-effective means of delivering broadcast signals to homes.
“We operate a Digital Head-End (DHE) platform for helping broadcasters, content producers, content aggregators, and Pay TV operators to reach millions in sub-Saharan Africa through communication satellite.
“NIGCOMSAT has invested in both ground and space segment to make this an affordable and end-to-end business solution for players in the broadcast industry.
“We also have resources and expertise to guide you in establishing your business ideas as the case may be,” he said.
