DSO: We are in talks with FG on roll out plan – Pinnacle

One of the companies that won the Signal Distribution license for Nigeria’s Digital Switch Over (DSO), Pinnacle Communications, has said it is engaging with the federal government to see to the successful completion of the DSO project on or before June 17, 2017. The company’s Chairman and CEO, Sir Lucky Omoluwa, who disclosed this at […]

One of the companies that won the Signal Distribution license for Nigeria’s Digital Switch Over (DSO), Pinnacle Communications, has said it is engaging with the federal government to see to the successful completion of the DSO project on or before June 17, 2017.
The company’s Chairman and CEO, Sir Lucky Omoluwa, who disclosed this at a press briefing in Abuja at the weekend, said the company had assured the minister of information of its readiness to roll out equipment as soon as on-going talks with the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) are concluded.
Nigeria failed to meet the June 2015 deadline earlier set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The United Nations body gave the country another deadline of June 17, 2017 following pleas from the Nigerian government.
But the resumed DSO project was temporarily stalled last year when Pinnacle slammed a N1.2trillion law suit against NBC for alleged breach of contractual agreement.
The case is still in court but Pinnacle hinted at the weekend it might withdraw the case at the end of the talks with the government. 
  “We are engaging very seriously with the Minister (of Information); we are engaging with NBC and we are hopeful that all the issues in the court will be resolved as quickly as possible.
“We are confident Nigeria can meet the deadline if the government is really passionate about it. As for us, we are passionate we are set to start work and we plead with Nigerians to bear with us. We will strive to make the DSO happen on or before June 2017”, Sir Omoluwa said.
The Pinnacle’s Executive Director, Mr Dipo Onifade, who also addressed journalists at the press briefing said the company and its partners- GatesAir and Jampro both in the USA- are already on red alert and will deploy its equipment as soon as they get the go-ahead from NBC.
Though the next year’s deadline seems aggressive, he said, Pinnacle would work with the government to meet the deadline.
“NBC calls the shots; they will tell us how the plan will be,how we move from city to city and that is an on-going discussion”, he said.
The CEO of Jampro, Alex Perchevitch and President of GatesAir, Phil Argyris both expressed confidence in the Nigeria’s DSO project.