Yemisi Bamgbose, Executive Secretary of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), has cautioned the Federal Government against selling the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band reserved for broadcasting to telecom operators. He stressed that such a move would undermine the future of television broadcasting in Nigeria.
In remarks reported by The Guardian, Bamgbose urged government to protect the spectrum assigned by the ITU for broadcasting. Drawing from discussions at the International Broadcasting Conference in Amsterdam, he noted that many European countries and the EU have gauranteed spectrum for Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) broadcasting at least beyond 2030 and are now advancing towards 5G Terrestrial Broadcast (5GB).
“5GB enables the delivery of TV and other content via terrestrial radio networks, but it depends on continued access to UHF spectrum,” he explained. He also cited evidence from IBC 2025 showing that Europe and Asia are adopting this technology for broad coverage and flexible networks.
Bamgbose called on the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to guide government safeguarding Nigeria’s broadcasting future.
