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GSM At 14: So Far, So Fair by emyfx77(m): 6:04am On Aug 16, 2015 |
As operators of the Global System for
Mobile Communication, GSM, mark 14th
anniversary, Bukola Aroloye reports on
the high and low points of the
burgeoning telecoms sub-sector
The launch of the Global System for
Mobile communications in 2001 liberated
Nigerians from the shackles of the once
powerful, but now virtually insignificant,
national telecoms monopoly, NITEL. Thus
Nigerians breathe a sigh of relief when
Econet (now Airtel) and MTN Nigeria
launched their GSM mobile services in
2001.
The revolution brought to bear on the life
style of Nigerians several characteristics
such as talking to oneself on the street
while walking, which actually means that
the person is receiving call through via a
wireless earpiece.
With the trend came also laws such as no
phone call driving rule meant to regulate
the use of mobile phones by motorists.
But all that is now history, as Nigerians
have come to realise the magic that GSM
brought into their life.
The auction ran from January 17 to 19,
2001 with Radio Spectrum International
(RSI), Charles Rivers Associates, Chief
Afe Babalola (SAN) and Mr.Paul Usoro
(SAN) as consultants to the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC).
The auction’s success set a very
important precedent by conducting the
world’s first ascending clock spectrum
auction which convinced the global
community of transparent government
processes by informing the public of the
details of the auction exercise.
The new telecoms era has been
supported with the Nigerian
Communication Act, 2003, which
provides regulatory regime for investors
and all the players, even as the country
has remained and will continue to be an
investment haven in years to come,
according to a Pyramid Research study.
Analysis of the developments in the
sector in the last 14 years is a pointer to
the positive impacts the sector has been
having on all sectors of the economy,
notwithstanding existing challenges,
which the industry still contends with.
“From whatever point of view one looks
at it, the telecoms industry remains one
of the most outstanding sectors going by
available statistics in the industry,”
observes a telecoms industry analyst, Mr
Akin Akinbo.
The sector has recorded tremendous
growth with multiplier effects being felt in
all other sectors of the economy, ranging
from banking, education, e-commerce/
retailing, agriculture, medicine, media, oil
and gas, among others, he said.
Industry experts said for the sector to
have recorded a growth from 450, 000
connected lines in 2001 to over 135
million active subscribers as at the end of
2014, the industry has, indeed, fared very
well.
Not only this, backed by the NCA 2003,
the deregulation has resulted in
geometric growth in the local and Foreign
Direct Investment (FDI) inflow.
According to the former Executive Vice
Chairman of NCC, Dr, Eugene Juwah,
“Over $32 billion investment has been
recorded in the sector as at June 2014
from $50 million in year 2001. The
investment stood at $18 billion in 2010
and $25 billion in 2012.”
With this investment, telecoms
companies have been able to
successfully deploy 68,124 kilometre of
fibre optic cabling as at the end of
December, 2013 while in 2014 alone,
additional 38, 000 kilometre of fibre optic
cables were laid, according to NCC.
Experts say this represents an increase of
about 44.2 per cent investment in fibre
optic cabling by the telecoms companies
last year alone.
Meanwhile, in the last 14 years, telecoms
companies in Nigeria have also increased
their base transceiver stations (BTS)
expansion efforts from few thousands to
over 27, 000, making it possible for more
people to have access to telephone
services thus covering many hitherto
unserved and underserved communities
across the country.
Beyond carrying voice signals, the
industry operators are also making their
BTS either 2G-enabled or 3G-enabled to
be able to carry adequate data services,
with the country relying on the 11
terabyte of internet capacity brought into
the country by the likes of Main One,
Glo1, West African Cable Systems
(WACS), among others.
According to data from the Ministry of
Communication Technology, between
2013 and December, 2014, 2G-enabled
sites have increased from 22, 578 to
28,289 while 3G-enabled sites have
increased from less than 10,000 to
15,048 during the same period.
However, a backbone infrastructure
project, started by the NCC, through the
Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF),
has also continued to bridge the gap
between the served and underserved or
unserved areas in the country, especially
areas not considered commercially
viable by the telcos.
Through the project, former Minister of
Communication Technology, Mrs
Omobola Johnson, said about 1, 200
kilometres of fibre optic cabling has also
been run so far.
According to Mrs. Johnson, over 170
base stations, in total, had been deployed
only through the USPF to un-served and
underserved areas by the end of 2014,
with each of the base stations serving a
cluster of communities.
These metrics have, thus, made Nigeria
the fastest growing telecommunications
country by the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU) ratings
for five consecutive years, a feat
attributed to the robust and transparent
regulatory regime engendered by the
NCC.
Perhaps, one area that has been of
significant measure of how the industry
has fared in the last 168 months of its
revolution has been in the area of service
tariff, cost of owning communication
devices and cost of acquiring Subscriber
Identity Module (SIM) card or telephone
line.
The NCC adopted in 2013 ‘progressive
reduction interconnect termination rates’
whereby new entrants and small
operators had termination rates for voice
services pegged at N4.90 in April 2013,
N4.40 in April 2014 and by April this year
it will drop to N3.90 for all networks.
Also, SIM cards are almost given pro
bono by telecoms networks today,
whereas, 14 years ago, Nigerians were
paying between N25, 000 and N20, 000
to acquire a SIM card with only net-worth
individuals being able to own telephone
lines.
In the same vein, Chief Executive Officer
and Executive Secretary, E-Payment
Providers Association of Nigeria (E-
PPAN), Mrs Regha Onajite, noted that the
increasing volumes of e-banking
transactions, being driven by the
cashless policy of the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN), “are all resting on the
shoulder of the telecoms industry.”
In a similar submission, Chairman,
Association of Licensed Telecoms
Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr Gbenga
Adebayo, said the telecoms sector has
performed well as an enabler of most of
the ICT-driven activities that have
brought about efficiency in the country.
However, while insisting that the sector
has not done badly in the last 14 years,
the Association of Telecommunications
Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) noted that
the industry is still bedeviled with myriad
of challenges, which, if addressed with
the needed velocity, will add a fillip to the
sector’s performance in the coming
years. http://thenationonlineng.net/gsm-at-14-so-far-so-fair/ |
Re: GSM At 14: So Far, So Fair by dyadeleye(m): 6:10am On Aug 16, 2015 |
Deez nutz....got em.. Telecommunication companies are taking us for a ride here in naija....smh. |
Re: GSM At 14: So Far, So Fair by dejavski(m): 6:16am On Aug 16, 2015 |
Wow!!! So it's 14 years already That was the only reasonable baba iyabo did in this country and the rest they say is history |
Re: GSM At 14: So Far, So Fair by encryptjay(m): 8:07am On Aug 16, 2015 |
Buying MTN sim with CD ROM and then... Mtn cheat folks big time. But IMEI goons are making them pay. |
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