MTN has launched its DTT service in Nigeria, using the capital of Plateau state Jos to pilot the rollout.

The operator delivers the service using spectrum it received from the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) in 2015.

This allocation remains a controversial issue. Unlike the familiar open process of bidding and spectrum allocation, the process through which MTN secured the spectrum was not made public - although it paid NGN34 billion for the license triggering a reaction from industry stakeholders who queried the regulator's decision to exclude other potential bidders.

However, the company remains confident of its value proposition describing it as "a voyage into the convergence of telecoms, broadcast and media."

Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Ferdi Moolman, said: "With the launch of the new service, MTN subscribers can now watch their favourite programmes when they choose the MTN Video-on-Demand service, rather than having to watch at a specific broadcast time."

"This will be the first fully converged broadcast and OTT-VOD service to launch in MTN," he said.

MTN Nigeria Executive, Lynda Saint-Nwafor, said "Nigerians can now watch TV programmes on their smartphones and other devices via Over-the-Top platforms like WhatsApp, BlackBerry Messenger, Facebook and Twitter, among others."

Industry analysts believe there would be improved adoption of the service if Nigeria is able to switch more cities over to digital broadcasting.

"They are the only company with such service for now and it is going to be the strategy if they follow the digital switchover team from one city to another," said industry expert, Dapo Ayelabowo.