TV provider startimes Nigeria, has announced the shut down of it’s digital video broadcasting (DVB-T1) for old decoder users in Lagos from May 1,  2023.

The General Manager Eric Xiaol of StarTimes Nigeria, said at a briefing in Lagos that, in 2010, StarTimes marked a major departure from poor picture quality and limited entertainment on TV viewing, by ushering in a new era of television viewing to millions of homes.

“And a new era of digital TV for everyone was born. Digital TV became easily accessible, affordable and families had more entertainment choices. This technology was powered by digital video broadcasting (DVB-T1) decoder, a digital-terrestrial technology.

“With the wide acceptance of StarTimes in various homes and in line with its mission centred on delivering top-notch digital benefits to homes, StarTimes launched the latest digital terrestrial TV DVB-T2 technology in 2012,” he said.

Xiaol said the major advantage of the DVB-T2 is its ability to offer more channels and picture quality as one frequency on DVB-T2 has the capacity for more channels than DVB-T1.

“The DVB-T2 also has superior digital and audio-visual quality, making TV viewing more enjoyable for families. StarTimes has been using its DVB-T2 technology to support Nigeria’s digital migration switchover, in collaboration with the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission, and the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)”

StarTimes has the widest digital terrestrial television (DTT) coverage in Nigeria, reaching all 36 states and the FCT, due to its strategic partnership with NTA.

However, some subscribers are still using the old DVB-T1 decoder, which is now outdated. The time has come to retire the DVB-T1 technology for good.

We are here to witness the shutdown of the DVB-T1 technology and the migration of all customers to the DVB-T2 technology.

This switch-off starts in Lagos on May 1, meaning customers still using the old StarTimes decoder will stop receiving signals from May 1. When StarTimes launched in 2010, the T1 decoder was introduced as its initial decoder.

“Thus, we invite all our Lagos subscribers to migrate to our T2 decoder for free. This upgrade aims to provide our esteemed subscribers with a better viewing experience,” he said.

“We are offering all our T1 decoder subscribers the opportunity to upgrade to the T2 decoder for free. To take advantage of this offer, visit in business halls or selected dealers, come along with your T1 decoder and remote, recharge for one month on classic bouquet, and swap instantly to the T2 decoder at no extra charge. We encourage you to act fast as the old StarTimes (silver colour) decoder will stop receiving signals from May 1,” he added.

Tribune /VON