The federal government has issued a Certificate of Backward Integration to Gospell Digital Technology for manufacturing Digital Television (DTV), Set Top Boxes (STBs) or decoders and smart electricity meters.
The firm is said to be the first indigenous company to produce STBs for the digitisation of the broadcast industry since 2015.
It was also among the pioneer companies licensed by the federal government under the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for the June 17, 2015, Digital Switch Over (DSO) deadline.
In a statement, the firm said it had a production capacity of 1.2 million boxes annually and that it had also signed a meter service agreement with Eko Distribution Company (DisCo) in Lagos to manufacture and supply smart prepaid meters under the ongoing National Mass Metering Programme.
The Group Managing Director (GMD) of Gospell, Sir Godfrey Ohuabunwa, in the statement, said it was worth it for attaining the status after a series of tests by the government to ensure the quality and suitability of the devices for Nigeria.
Sir Ohuabunwa further said the firm was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in 2014 and operated at its factory commissioned in October, 2016, at the Calabar Free Trade Zone in Cross River State; built with a facility from the Bank of Industry (BOI).
On the metering pact with Eko DisCo, Ohuabunwa said initial production had started on its SMT lines while the STBs were ready for distribution as soon as NBC restarted the TV digitisation project.
Daily Trust reports that the project was suspended in the last three years after the switchover was realised in Plateau, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kwara, Enugu, Osun and Kaduna states in the first phase.
Source: Dailytrust
