SES to provide capacity for Nigeria’s CCNL ahead of DSO

Satellite operator SES has signed a deal with Nigerian content aggregator and platform provider Cable Channels Nigeria (CCNL) to provide capacity at the 28.2° East orbital slot to distribute digital-terrestrial TV and DTH services.

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 central role in the country’s switchover process by getting channels onto the land-based DTT network and onto satellite as DTH, both offered under the brand FreeTV.

SES will be providing the space segment and specific platform services for the DTH service which will be used to feed the DTT transmitters around the country via a hybrid DTH/DTT solution. Using teleport services provided by SES local teleport partner CWG, the channels are aggregated from all over Nigeria by way of microwave, fibre, IP or satellite, and then multiplexed before uplink to the ASTRA-2F satellite at 28.2 degrees East.

“This agreement with SES will have a massive impact on consumers as we move towards the Nigeria DSO process. It moves over 25 million households from three to four analogue channels to 15 channels at launch, increasing to at least 30 channels in digital quality picture and sound,” said Mohammed Bawa, Vice Chairman of CCNL.