Institute canvases for smooth internet connection to boost digital television

 

By Ovasa Ogaga,

The Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (NIEEE) has tasked the federal government to regulate the quality and standards of equipment used by internet providers to ensure better frequency transmission for digital television broadcasting.

A member of the institute, Stephen Moses stated this at an eighth virtual/physical scholarship award and presentation ceremony, hosted by the institute on Monday, as was reported by the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.

Moses, who is also the executive director of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), disclosed that Nigeria still operates an analog system.

He said NTA, therefore, needed the right transmitters to blend into the digital platforms for the country’s frequency spectrum.

He added that Nigeria and most African countries still operate analog television broadcasting, hence, the need to use the right transmitters, “using the Internet to limit the interference of the airwaves with the signals”.

Speaking on the topic “Investigating the coexistence between DVB-T2 and LTE networks in the digital dividend band in Nigeria,” Moses listed the different acceptable frequencies for TV and Internet transmissions.

He called on the relevant government agencies to maintain the protection ratio of digital video broadcasting (DVB) – terrestrial second-generation (DVB-T2) and long-term evolution (LTE) networks to achieve seamless coexistence.

DVB is the extension of the DVB-T television standard, issued by the DVB consortium, designed for broadcasting digital terrestrial television.

LTE is a wireless data transmission standard that allows downloading of favorite music, websites, and videos at a faster rate than with the previous technology, 3G.

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According to him, there are areas of growing interest in spectrum use, and studies on interference from the two services are needed as previous studies have not explored the case of Nigeria.

The guest speaker called on the Nigerian Broadcasting Service (NBC), the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), the Nigerian Custom, and the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) to work with the institute to enforce the standards.

He, however, recommended that NCC and NBC apply the protection ratios.

Moses added that SON, Nigerian Custom, NCC, and NBC should work together to ensure that only standard equipment is introduced to the Nigerian market.

He also urged agencies to rely on a practical coexistence guide for the two services in order to combine television with the internet spectrum.

While giving a brief history of the institute, Mr. Adeyemi Kings, National President of NIEEE, said that it was established in 1984 but started awarding scholarships in 2015 with 28 chapters.

“In order to effectively fulfill our mandate, the NIEEE is constitutionally structured into three major sub-divisions of electrical engineering, namely electrical engineering, telecommunications, and ICT, as well as the instrumentation and control sections,” did he declare.

In addition, Ms Atinuke Owolabi, Managing Director of Wurvicat International Ltd, and the only female scholarship holder out of 24 thanked the institute on behalf of the other new scholarship holders.

Corporate Partnership Awards were presented to NCC, Eko Electricity Distribution Company, and IHS Nigeria Ltd alongside other notable engineers for their contributions. (NOPE)

 

NAN